


Queen of the Crimson Waste

by Dribbon



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:47:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 31,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23278840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dribbon/pseuds/Dribbon
Summary: "Hear me out. OK? Within, like, a day, you’ve defeated the gangs ruling the crimson waste and made yourself their leader. This is the happiest I’ve ever seen you. Scratch that, this is the first time I’ve seen you happy, period. So why would we go back? Let’s stay here! Forget Hordak, forget Adora, forget all of them! We could rule the Crimson waste together, just the two of us. We could... you know … be happy."And then they did.
Relationships: Catra/Scorpia (She-Ra)
Comments: 48
Kudos: 121





	1. Let's stay here!

_Can you believe this? They said this was called a ‘party’. I like it! When we go back, there’s going to be a lot more parties._

_Uh, the crazy desert lady got away?_

_Eh, let ‘er. We got the most important thing right here.You heard that hologram. This is the key to the whole planet. When I bring this back to the Fright Zone, Hordak will see me for what I’m worth and I’ll be back on top._

_Or, you know, counterpoint, we don’t go back at all._

_What? Why wouldn’t we go back?_

_Uh, because you hate it there?_

_I… don’t…_

_Hear me out. OK? Within, like, a day, you’ve defeated the gangs ruling the crimson waste and made yourself their leader. This is the happiest I’ve ever seen you. Scratch that, this is the first time I’ve seen you happy, period. So why would we go back? Let’s stay here! Forget Hordak, forget Adora, forget all of them! We could rule the Crimson waste together, just the two of us. We could... you know … be happy._

_I- I don’t- I have to go check on the prisoner._

Before Catra got to the door, she looked over her shoulder, “Oh, and Scorpia, meet me outside the ship?”

***

When Catra came out of the ship’s doors, it was at a run. Scorpia didn’t recognize the look on her face. She barely slowed down as she passed by, “Come on!” Catra called back, “Let’s go!” Before Scorpia could react, Catra was careening into the desert night. 

Scorpia quickly found out she simply couldn’t catch up to Catra at a run. Catra was light and graceful, while she awkwardly sunk into the sand with every step. If it weren’t for the moonlight, Scorpia would have lost Catra’s trail entirely. She was winded by the time she stumbled up to Catra, lying on a rock and alternating between laughing and gasping for breath. 

Scorpia heavily sat down beside her on the boulder. “What’s going on? Where is the prisoner?"

“I did it!” said Catra, pumping a fist into the air, “Just like you said! I let them go, and I’m NOT going back.”

Scorpia was stunned, “You let her go?”

Catra grinned smugly, “Of course, I couldn’t just let her go. If I did, she’d want to fight and there’d be no end to her questions and complaining. I just had them tie her up near a nest of Cut-Bugs. She’ll manage to cut her bindings with the bugs and escape soon enough. This way, she'll think she's avoiding us, and she gets to feel as stuck up as she always does.” Her look of annoyance quickly turned back to a grin full of teeth. Catra acrobatically leapt to her feet and put her hands on Scorpia’s forearms. Since she was young, Scorpia had always wished she could feel through that carapace, never more than in that moment. “So, what do we do next?”

Scorpia could barely think. “We ran off without our supplies, we’ll have to go back-”

“Anything but that!” Catra blurted out, “Maybe we could go back to that town we passed? The princesses would never think to look for us there, and she’s sure to be after us any minute now.”

***

_Four hours later_

Huntara shook her head at Adora, “what are you doing out here?”

Adora was halfway up the tree’s trunk, desperately kicking at the Cut-Bugs. Her boots and pants were reduced to ribbons. “Just get me down!”

****

The natives of the Crimson Waste must sleep at some time, but when Scorpia and Catra returned to the Dragon Bar that morning, it was still as noisy and chaotic as it was when they had left it. What had once seemed like an imposing relic of another age now seemed familiar, almost homey. Scorpia idly considered the possibility of curbing their ambitions, simply taking over the bar and settling down. Who needs anything more than this? 

“You know what this place needs? Organization” said Catra as she waved a hand dismissively at the rest of the bar, “The Horde was the worst, but even they didn’t have people wandering around stealing, threatening each other with weapons and getting into brawls. How do these people ever relax?” 

Despite her words, Catra had never seemed more at peace in Scorpia’s eyes. Something about her shoulders, or maybe her face… 

Scorpia was startled from her reverie when she realized Catra had asked a question. What had she said? “Right!” She agreed, brightly, “Organization. After all, there’s not much point in taking over if there aren’t any rules!” 

That seemed to satisfy Catra, who leaned back in her chair, put her hands behind her head, and looked around, “So, what do we do? I’ve never started a society before”

Scorpia frowned. She had been raised to be a princess, but that was interrupted by the Horde, and she had no interest in replicating that experience. “You said it already, Catra,” Scorpia said, thoughtfully, “we need some rules. No killing, no weapons, no stealing, but the next thing we need is local representation.”

Catra snorted. “You want someone representing _these_ people? Just so they can complain to us about their problems?”

Scorpia’s face lit up. “They’re not there to complain! We need locals because problems are local. We can’t just tell everyone what to do and leave” She turned wistful, “I remember my moms would always say, ‘it’s impossible to rule a country, but people can rule themselves-'”

A hand slammed into the table between them. Scorpia cursed her blindness to the world outside her conversation with Catra. A thug stood at the table, waving a hooked sword between them.

“You think you two can just come back here?” The thug was clearly trying to look intimidating. Her sword could do some damage, but the two of them could easily-

“Who do you think you are?” Catra said, annoyed.”I mean, actually, who are you? Do you know her?” Scorpia shook her head.

The thug snatched at Catra’s collar, she was fast. “I’m the one that’s taking over now that Huntara and Tongue-Lashor are gone.” 

Scorpia slapped her hand away. “How dare you? You’re talking to the Queen of the Crimson Waste!”

Catra squeaked adorably. “Queen?”

Scorpia looked to the floor. “It just sounded right, you know?”

Catra shrugged. “Sure, I mean, if you can be a princess, why not a queen?” Scorpia blushed furiously. She had never felt like a princess, even before the Horde.

The thug was shaking with rage at being ignored. She brandished her cutlass and snapped her fingers, summoning her lackeys who emerged from the crowd and surrounded the table. Catra instantly jumped out of her chair and behind the nearest thug. Catra staggered under a chair broken over her back as she stood. She shook her head, swept away the nearest thugs with a sweep of her claw, and seized the leader’s arm with the other. “You can imagine what I could do to you with this. Tell your minions to stand down, or we’ll both regret today.” The bandit’s face was ghost white, eyes wide, but she said nothing. Scorpia looked around the room only to find that she didn’t need to. Two she had shoved aside were running away, and Catra was slashing the face of the last fighter putting up any resistance. Scorpia released her grip, and the bandit leader simply collapsed to the ground. There was a deadly silence. 

Catra sauntered over the shattered furniture with the elegance of a dancer. Scorpia couldn’t look away. “Queen of the Crimson Waste, huh? You forgot something, though.” She stood on a plank, bringing her face so close to Scorpia’s she could feel the heat of her breath. “A queen needs a crown.” Suddenly, she stepped back and her face fell into that fear Scorpia knew too well. “Anyway,” she mumbled, looking around the remaining people in the bar, “I think they all get the point, let’s go figure out our next step.”

By the end of the day, the bar had appointed a representative, although they seemed to think the Lizard was more of a hostage. They shook under the attention of Catra and Scorpia, and could only stammer out answers to their questions. Catra could only put her head in her hands, “So there’s no map. Nobody knows how many people live here. The Waste is so big, no one even knows how big it is!” She turned to Scorpia. “I’m beginning to like the other plan, you know, where we just tell them what to do and then leave?”

Scorpia was trying to think of something to say when she spotted Lonnie, Rogelio and ... who was that? Oh yes, Kyle, entering the bar. They were covered with dirt and sweat. Lonnie peered around the dim bar, jumping with surprise when she spotted Catra. She smacked Kyle, pointed out their bosses, the three of them hustled over to their table and saluted, drooping with fatigue.

“What are you three doing here?” 

“We were, uh, looking for you?”

Kyle looked nervous.

“Kyle, what were you doing?”

Kyle flinched. “Captain, we didn’t know what to do! We were going back to the Horde for new orders!”

Lonnie growled and punched Kyle in the shoulder. “What were you thinking?”

Catra just laughed. “Sometimes I think the only thing you three are good at is distracting us. Why would I think a new start would mean getting away from you three?”

“What do we do next?” Lonnie asked. 

Catra turned to Scorpia, “What was the name of that town they described?”

“I don’t think that town has a name, it’s just a place near water.” said Scorpia.

“Right.” Catra returned to talking down to the troops. “The name doesn’t matter. What matters is that it sounds like a central place with a lot of people. We go there, announce we’re taking over, soon people from all over the Waste have heard about us. Then we won’t have to fight every time we enter a town, instead they’ll just give up once they see us coming!” Catra laughed at the thought. “That’s the new plan, right, Scorpia?”

Scorpia nodded hesitantly, “That’s right, Catra, that’s the plan!” She had made the suggestion, and was glad Catra had agreed, but was confused. Why had Catra seemed so indecisive when they were talking, only to jump on the decision now?

Rogelio growled out a question. Catra laughed. “Your rooms? You think the three of you deserve your own rooms? We paid for two, and that’s plenty. You three will be in that room.” Scorpia’s heart leapt in her chest. She couldn’t breathe. Catra was still talking. “You’ve got to understand that we’re doing the royal treatment now, so you three are sleeping by the door, Scorpia’s on the bed, and I’ll be in the other room.”

Scorpia’s heart sank. It had been too much to hope. Of course, if Catra was going to be a queen, she’d have whatever privileges she wanted, but a girl could dream, right?

In the bedroom, Scorpia stared at the ceiling, trying to tune out Kyle’s snoring. Catra was acting different, but not like a queen. A queen should ask for advice, then make a firm decision. She should let her subordinates know the grand scheme of things, then let them do the specific work. Instead she was only soliciting Scorpia’s position and going with that. Sure, Catra had never ruled a country before, but she knows how to be a Force Captain. Commanding. Assertive. There’s no way Scorpia would ever tell her queen to be more assertive, no matter how much she might fantasize about just that. Catra needed a symbol. Something that would show her what it is to be a queen.


	2. Let's Stay Here!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They go to a place and meet an old friend.
> 
> Trying to do quick chapters instead of trying to get it "perfect".

Scorpia woke up to an empty room. When she stepped out, the morning sun was pouring in through the skeleton ribs that served as a ceiling. It was going to be a beautiful day. Catra had the “troops” standing at attention Kyle, Lonnie and Rogelio looked alert, but their clothes were already showing a lot of wear. Scorpia felt a twinge of guilt. This could be hard for them, and they hadn’t signed up to help Catra rule the Crimson Waste. Surely they should at least be told that they were no longer working for Hordak?

Catra turned to Scorpia and smiled. “You’re up! We’re just about ready to go, we’ve got supplies, and the locals have wrangled up some Pack Lizards.” She walked closer to whisper, “I think they’re eager to see us go.”

Pack Lizards? Scorpia smiled in confusion. “Great?”

Outside the bar, there were three of what Scorpia assumed were the Pack Lizards. Nearly as tall as Scorpia at the shoulder and at least twice as long, they seemed surprisingly docile for creatures with jaws easily big enough to bite an arm and teeth sharp enough to cut through bone. They looked at Scorpia and everything else with an apparent complete lack of interest, slowly tracking whoever was nearest as Kyle tried to strap the packs to their broad backs. Hesitantly, Scorpia reached out to stroke the closest lizard’s side. Each scale was the size of her claw. “They’re so...peaceful,” she murmured. 

Catra gave a derisive laugh. “They’re a little too peaceful, if you ask me. They’re not going to be any faster than walking.” 

“Aw, it’s not so bad, Wildcat! They’re just so precious!” She patted its shoulder, “I’ll call this one...Floot.” Catra snorted. Scorpia got back to business, “ Kyle! Why aren’t the packs ready yet?”

As they mounted up, Scorpia considered a plan for the rest of the day. They’d have no end of time to discuss future plans, and Scorpia could do her best to reinforce the necessity of decisive leadership from Catra. She’d have to be subtle though, Catra had a lot of scars from people that told her what to do.

The heat and the sun beating down had opposite effects on Catra and Scorpia. Scorpia had never felt so energized, while Catra almost immediately curled into a ball on her lizard’s broad back. “There goes the plan,” Scorpia grumbled to herself. Still, it was a beautiful day, and there was so much to look forward to. 

As the lizards began following Kyle’s lead through the desert, Catra raised her head just enough to bring her eyes above her tail. “Scorpia, I was thinking. Those people at the bar had no idea what we were talking about. Why not write a speech for when we arrive, so that everyone knows what’s going on?”

“Great idea!” Scorpia said, nodding. It was the perfect solution. By writing a speech about how this place should operate, how they would be ruled, Scorpia could make it a speech about how Catra should rule them.

Scorpia had been working on the speech for hours. Her energy from the weather had dissipated. Everyone else had fallen asleep in the gentle sway of the lizards’ steady walk. It was hard to write a speech with two meanings, and working the datapad with her claws was extremely awkward. But this was important. This mattered. If Catra could convince people that she could be a good ruler, taking over the Crimson Waste could be a (mostly) peaceful process. It could be the first step in liberation from a life of fear and violence.

Since Scorpia was engrossed in her work and everyone else was sleeping, it was Kyle that first saw the figure on the horizon. All alone, trudging through this seemingly endless waste? What could they possibly be doing out here?

It was almost an hour later that Scorpia was close enough to recognize her. “Oh, I know you!” she said, and jumped off her lizard. She ran across the sands to reach… what was her name? One of Tung Lashor’s former team. Scorpia recognized the body posture of someone that didn’t really know her: a defensive cringe, averted gaze. She knew how to handle someone like this: a good hug is the first step to being good friends.

As the lizard-person tried to say something, Scorpia put on a friendly face, grappled her with her claws, and pulled her in close. It was good to actually feel someone. “You came back to us!” she enthused. She turned back to the rest of the group drawing closer and called out, “look who came back! It’s...what’s your name?”

The lizard-woman put her hand on her knees, panted for breath, and wheezed out, “Caima, boss. Name is Caima.”

“Hey, Catra, Caima came back!” Scorpia put her claw on Caima’s shoulder to reassure her. “What happened to you, Caima? We haven’t seen anyone since the party!”

Caima stood back up and answered, “Looked for you. Went to the prisoner. Princesses were there. Knocked me out. Many questions.”

Catra arrived at a run, claws bared. “They’re taking prisoners now?”

Caima shrugged, “I knew nothing. Let me go. Now I’m headed to Water Town.”

“They were asking about me? Of course! I told you they wouldn’t be able to let us go!” Catra said, flashing her teeth. “Where were they headed?” 

Caima just shrugged her shoulders.

“What’s their plan?”

Caima shrugged again.

Catra growled and grabbed Scorpia by the shoulder, pulling her close. “Do we even trust her? She was the one guarding Adora! She could have been turned!”

Scorpia frowned. Adora did have a way of getting people to like her. Scorpia wondered what it would be like to have that kind of charisma.

Catra leaned in even closer. “Remember how she dressed? She was wearing a high-heel pair of waist high crotchless boots! Did she dress up special for guarding a prisoner? Where do you get boots like that?”

Scorpia looked over her shoulder-plate at Caima. She stood there blankly, idly shifting her shoulders for the weight of her pack. If she was up to anything, she was good at hiding it. “What’s the worst that could happen, Catra? If she’s lying, the Princesses aren’t after us, and we can move on!”

Catra nodded jerkily. Scorpia hated to see her face when the Princesses were mentioned. “Fine,” she muttered. “Caima! We need to know everything about this place we’re going to! Water Town?”

Caima looked unimpressed. “Only place with water. Didn’t like it.” She looked around the terrain idly. Slowly, her eyes blinked. 

After a long pause, Catra gave up. “Fine, you can ride with Lonnie and Rogelio.” Caima sauntered over to the lizard and climbed up. Without acknowledging the other passengers, she dug through her pack, pulled out a hunk of meat, and started gnawing at it.

Scorpia shrugged and started to climb up her own lizard as Catra yelled at Kyle for lying around while they’re about to leave. Kyle sighed, grabbed the leash to the lead lizard, and started trudging through the Waste.

*****

The sun was setting and a cool wind was blowing through the Waste by the time that Scorpia was satisfied with the speech. It was forceful, but made it clear that everyone would benefit from having a queen if everyone worked together. She hoped she hadn’t put too much stress on the duties of a queen. She smiled to herself, “If Catra doesn’t like it, she sure won’t say it,” she whispered. Catra would make her own decisions no matter what anyone else said. Maybe it was pointless to try to push her out of her passivity. Catra would surely grow into her-

“Scorpia.” Catra had pulled her lizard parallel with Scorpia’s. How long had she been watching?

“Yes, wildcat?”

“How did your parents meet?” 

Scorpia gave a long nostalgic sigh, “You know the old story? Captain of the guard falls for the queen, can’t possibly confess it? They lived it. Every joke, every moment of awkward politeness, they did it all. It was over a year of miscommunication before mom realized, as queen, she could just ask for her guard’s hand and she’d have her answer, right there. Problem solved!” she laughed quietly.

Catra didn’t join in the laughter. “Why couldn’t the captain of the guard just ask?” she whispered.

Scorpia saw her opportunity. “A queen can’t be approached. If the queen refuses a proposition, she’d have to sever all ties with the guard. So long as she said nothing, she could remain captain of the guard, being a guard meant she could be close.” Scorpia gazed into Catra’s eyes in the twilight. “It all comes down to what the queen wants.”

For just a moment, Catra looked like she was going to say something, then choked it back. Scorpia hung her head. What was going on? Was Scorpia misunderstanding Catra’s feelings? Why else would they have run off into the Waste together? 

It was getting dark.They wrangled the pack lizards into a rough circle and lay in the center. The wind howled in the darkness. “Almost there,” said Caima. Scorpia shivered and pressed herself against the side of her lizard. Caima had been clear: All of the Princess’s questions were about Catra, not Hordak or his plans. They were going to run into each other, sooner or later. Maybe that’s why Catra seemed distracted. They might have left the Horde, but they couldn’t escape the war.


	3. Water Town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our heroes go on crime spree.

Water Town was small in comparison to the Horde capital, but compared to the other places in the Crimson Waste, it was a bustling city. As they approached, it was easy to overlook, only a few tents clinging to the edge of a canyon. But as they looked over the edge, there was business and industry. In the shade of the canyon walls, people were much more active than in the unending heat of the rest of the Waste. Smoke rose from buildings, children ran between merchants, and, in the center of everything, was the water. 

A stream of water emerged from the wall of the crevasse. It ran through the entire city, bridged several times by modest constructions of bleached-white wood. At the source of the stream was a complicated mechanism, turning slowly, collecting water into an enormous tank. The mechanism was also attached to a rope that ran up to the edge of the cliff, allowing the rest of Scorpia’s team to descend without much effort. It was only when Catra had descended out of sight that Scorpia admitted to herself that there was no way she was going to be able to hold that rope in her claws without cutting it. She sighed and started carefully winding her way down a narrow path to the bottom.

As she picked her way down the trail, Scorpia was nervous. Surely Catra would be safe without her. She was the best fighter Scorpia had ever met, and she was guarded by Lonnie and Rogelio. “In fact,” Scorpia said to herself, “if anyone’s in danger, it’s whoever has to talk to her.” Scorpia smiled, then recognized the truth in her words. She started to scramble down the trail, alternating between running and sliding down the loose gravel.

By the time Scorpia reached the canyon floor, Catra was interrogating a burly technician operating the rope lift. “What do you mean there’s no one in charge? There’s always someone in charge! She has to keep people safe!” She noticed Scorpia’s approach. “Oh, there you are! You can’t just separate from me, from us, like that!” She shuddered, and looked down to the packed red soil. “Nevermind. This buffoon won’t tell us who’s in charge. Apparently we should ask some kind of council about it.”

Scorpia shared Catra’s scepticism. She’d never seen a society without a leader. “We could look around town and find out for ourselves.”

They walked through the city warily at first, but the townsfolk’s complete lack of interest was strangely reassuring. Scorpia had never gone to a place where she wasn’t immediately seen as a threat or a joke. “What kind of place is this? Everyone is so ... quiet.” Most of the people were avoiding eye contact, those who looked at them gave a tense smile and moved on. 

The mood changed as they left the ramshackle homes and entered the market. Scorpia was overwhelmed by the colors and smells. The smell was alien, yet it reminded her of her youth, time spent with her parents, long ago… Scorpia shook her head and tried to focus on the here and now. Suddenly everyone wanted their attention, or so it seemed. Shouts came from every stall, trying to draw them near to buy things Scorpia had never heard of before. Scorpia knew about money from Force Commander Orientation, but had never used it, except to hire a mercenary or two. Here, money and noise were everywhere. Scorpia looked to Catra, but Catra wasn’t looking at the chaos, she was looking up. 

“That’s it. Right there, that’s who’s in charge.” Catra said, as she pointed to a gap in the cliff wall. It was an alcove carved into the rock, visible from everywhere in the market. The seat inside wasn’t exactly a throne, but it was clearly expensive and covered with ornate decoration. “Whoever sits there, that’s the boss. That’s the spot for your speech.” She turned and started to walk away from the market, “We find them, and we’ve got this city.”

They were getting some water from the stream when they were confronted by the police. Uniformed officers who assembled quickly in a ring around Scorpia and the rest of the team. They all held a long forked weapon as long as a sword. One of them, clearly the leader, in an immaculate blue uniform and shiny medals, stepped forward. She held her forked weapon loosely, in the stance of a fighter. “Do you have a water contract?” She asked, imperiously.

Scorpia scratched the back of her head and tried to smile charmingly. “We just got here, so… no? Caima, maybe you could-” 

She realized that Caima wasn’t there. When had she left? Had she gone to the police?

The police captain rolled her eyes and sighed. “Leo can tell you about the prices.” A less impressive officer stepped forward and cleared their throat.

Before they could say anything, Catra interrupted, “We don’t have any money. Like she said, we’re not from around here.”

The captain’s eyes narrowed and she returned to her fighting stance. “No money? Then you need to see the Judge. Come with us and there won’t be any trouble.”

Lonnie and Rogelio cringed, and went into their own defensive stance. Catra and Scorpia looked to each other. Neither made a move. Eventually, Catra made a dramatic shrug of unconcern, “Fine, let’s see this Judge. Maybe they can help us out.” Both sides collectively exhaled in relief. They followed the captain further into the city.

Scorpia tried to keep an eye on the police chief as they walked side by side. She had a pristine uniform, but her scarred face spoke of a rough history. Her muzzle, antlers and reversed knees reminded Scorpia of the villagers that lived in the princesses’ territory. She must have a story, Scorpia mused. Her hair was tied in place by a bandana, and ringlets poked down her forehead-

“What are you looking at?” Catra said, bringing her face between Scorpia and the captain. She looked annoyed. 

Scorpia was confused, “What’s wrong?”

“We’re not here to...make friends with the police,” Catra growled, “Focus on what we’re doing, not her!” 

Scorpia didn’t understand what was going on. “Catra, I wasn’t… I mean…”

The police captain rolled her eyes and shook her head. 

Fortunately, it was soon over. They had arrived at a door into the cavern wall. They entered a large courtroom with a judge behind a bench, flanked by officious attendants.

“Captain Oco, your honor.” Said the captain as she stepped inside, “These five were taking water without a contract, and they say they have no money.”

The judge was a slight figure, more a clerk than someone in charge. The judge glanced up from their paperwork to Scorpia and her friends. “From out of town, I take it? Exile. All five of you. Don’t come back unless you can pay a fine.”

“I don’t understand,” said Scorpia, “How is there a price for drinking water?”

The judge turned serious, leaned forward. “Property costs money,” he said, condescendingly, “if you want to use something that isn’t yours, you have to pay for it.”

Catra stepped forward, “Before you ‘exile’ us,” she said, the word full of contempt, “could you point us in the direction of whoever’s in charge? We have something important to say.”

The judge snorted. “There’s no one ‘in charge’. Everyone in Water Town is free. Our Council is nothing like your Hordak. Oh yes, I can tell a platoon of Horde deserters when I see one. Our rules are against things like theft, which is what your troop did. That’s why you’re leaving. You’re not saying anything important to anyone. Captain, you may remove them at your earliest convenience.”

As Captain Oco stepped in front of them to herd them out of the courtroom, Lonnie stood strong. “Hey! How are these people free if they can’t afford water? Seems like they’re only free to die.”

“Absolutely not. They are, like you, free to leave.” said the judge as the door closed behind them.

As the Captain escorted them back through the poorly constructed buildings that lined the path to the cavern’s entrance, Scorpia considered the families and children they saw as they passed. To these people, would the “freedom” to walk the Crimson Waste be any better than a freedom to die? She shook her head. Something had to be done.

As they turned toward the rope mechanism that would lift them from the canyon, Captain Oco blocked their way. “I’m sorry, but riding in and out of the city also has a price. You’re going up the trail.”

Catra and Scorpia looked to each other again. Again, neither made a move. They patiently followed the Captain to the base of the canyon’s wall.

Captain Oco leaned in close to Scorpia and whispered, “look, I can see you people are ready for trouble, and I appreciate you didn’t make any. If you need some supplies to get to the next town, just wait near the tents up there. I’ve got some money set aside for hard luck cases. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll take this chance to forget you’ve ever heard of Water Town.”

They began the tedious hike up the cliff wall. Bits of loose rock would come down in showers as they stumbled on treacherous footing. Catra began muttering. The words were unclear, but her mood was obvious, Scorpia had been amazed that she hadn’t fought the Police Captain or even the Judge. Hearing her mutter threats against the whole town was comforting, in a way. It let Scorpia know her Wildcat was still in there.

Scorpia was pleasantly surprised to find the pack lizards were still there. They hadn’t thought to make any provisions for their care, and Scorpia had been afraid they would have simply wandered off. As they drew near, they found the reason: Caima was there. She was feeding one of them an enormous cactus-fruit. The lizard was apparently unfazed by eating it whole, spines and all. It ate joyfully, snapping at the pink flesh inside. The contented faces and pink stains on the other lizards’ muzzles warmed Scorpia’s heart. “They really are just darling,” she said, as she reached out to stroke a lizard’s cheek. 

Catra wouldn’t be distracted so easily. “Caima! How could you just leave us? Those… people, they arrested us just for drinking the water! And you abandon us to this? Taking care of some stupid animals?” Her claws were drawn. She was too close to Caima for Scorpia’s comfort. 

Caima didn’t turn away from feeding the lizard. “Told you. Don’t like that place,” she said.

Catra screamed in frustration. “You told us? You told us nothing! Now the police there will be looking for us! They could have a bounty on us! What are we going to do now? Fight the whole town?”

Caima shrugged. “They won’t fight. Not for town.”

Scorpia grabbed Catra by the shoulder as gently as her pincers would allow. She turned her carefully and looked her in the eyes. “This will be hard. But Caima has a point. A lot of those people looked unhappy. They probably don’t want to fight for a city that charges them just to live. If we can convince them, we could win the city with only a small fight,” she scratched her chin, “well, a small fight compared to fighting the entire town. No matter how bad a place is, someone is going to fight for it. Those police looked tough enough.”

Catra screamed again, turned away from Scorpia and walked off toward the desert. Scorpia knew better than to follow. She couldn’t think of anything to do, there was no plan. Then she remembered: the Captain was coming. 

When the Captain arrived at the camp, she was in plain clothes. Her hair was down and her uniform was replaced by a loose dress. There was, however, still a forked sword at her belt. Her smile was more sympathetic than friendly. She held up a pack. “I brought the supplies. Do you want directions to the nearest town?”

Scorpia thought better of a hug, this time. Captain Oco had an aura of danger even when she was trying to be friendly. Scorpia and Catra hadn’t come up with a plan, so Scorpia simply told the truth, “We won’t need directions. We’re not going anywhere. But could you hear me out?”

The Captain grinned, “I’m a sucker for a romantic.” She sat at the fire. “Go ahead.”


	4. Once More Into the Breach

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our heroes make an announcement.

The next morning found Scorpia and Catra lurking in the market, disguised in long cloaks. It wouldn’t pass an inspection, but it got them to the market undisturbed. Security was generally pretty lax in Water Town. Directly across the market was an exception to that rule. A guard stood posted at a barred metal door dug directly into the rock. Beyond that door was the stairway that led to the throne in an alcove that overlooked the entire market.

Once the market was full and bustling, Catra scanned the crowd, took off her cloak, and began to scale the canyon wall toward the alcove. As she did, Scorpia walked nonchalantly to the guard. She pointed to Catra as she grabbed the lip of the platform and pulled herself inside. “Is she supposed to be doing that?” she asked innocently.

The guard did a double take and took an involuntary step forward. “Hey!” he shouted, looking up to the alcove where Catra now hid, “you can’t… hey!” he sputtered incoherently as he fumbled at the keys at his belt. Eventually he unlocked the door and stepped inside. When he tried to close the door behind him, he found Scorpia’s pincer in the way. He froze and looked up into Scorpia’s grinning face. “Wait, you’re that one that we kicked out yester-” Scorpia grabbed him by his collar, wrenched him out of the doorway, and threw him into the crowd, who were just now beginning to notice the action.

Scorpia stepped into the doorway and closed the door behind her as hard as she could. The metal screeched and twisted in the doorframe. No one would be opening that anytime soon. She hurried up the stone stairs. Shouts of indignation from the crowd echoed around her. Catra would be about to start her speech any moment now.

The alcove wasn’t spacious. Only enough space for a few to stand, with a railing along the edge. Scorpia felt very exposed. Scorpia realized she shouldn’t have been surprised to find Catra in a pose of exaggerated unconcern, sprawled along the throne’s arm. She shared a nervous smile with Catra and stood beside the throne, doing her best to look authoritative but friendly for the audience. The shouts of the crowd fell to angry conversations. In the relative silence, Scorpia looked to Catra out of the corner of her eye. To her shock, Catra was looking furious, and she was holding out the pad to Scorpia! She wanted Scorpia to give the speech? Had she not looked at the speech at all? It had many references to speaker as queen, which would make no sense if Scorpia said them. Scorpia took the pad cautiously and gulped as she tried to arrange her thoughts.

She stepped to the edge of the alcove and looked down to her pad. “Hello,” she said, “You probably don’t know us, but we’re taking over the Crimson Waste.” Immediately, the crowd erupted into a louder chaos than before. Catra tried to stay with the speech. “We think that everyone in the Waste can benefit from a queen, and I, I mean, we, could provide that leadership.” She set the speech down on the railing and looked to the people. “I mean, we got arrested yesterday just for drinking the water! How is that even possible? How can someone own a river?” The crowd grew quiet. Scorpia leaned forward and held the railing. “I’ll tell you one thing, once we’re in charge, no one’s going to have to pay for water!”

The crowd went mad. Scorpia realized saying anything more would be impossible. No one could possibly hear a speech over that noise. She thought the reaction was positive, but it was hard to tell.

Catra appeared beside her. She smiled. “Looks like it’s time to go!” She said. She turned to the crowd and yelled over the noise. “We’ll be back to discuss the terms of surrender with your Council tomorrow!”.

Scorpia banged her pincer on the top edge of the alcove, twice. A moment later a rope descended. This one bore a handle Scorpia could grab onto without cutting it in half. Catra and Scorpia quickly seized it and were lifted out and over the canyon wall.

Once they clambered over the edge, Catra was ecstatic. “We did it!” she shouted. She ran a circle in the sand. “They loved it! Great speech! Of course they’d go for water!”

Scorpia blushed. Catra didn’t know that her ‘speech’ was just the thoughts that came to her, since she couldn’t deliver the real speech. She also wasn’t as enthusiastic about the reaction. There was some good energy in the crowd, but a lot of anger, too. Since she couldn’t think of anything to say, she turned to Caima, who was gathering up the rope and untying it from the pack lizard that had pulled them up. “Thanks, Caima,” she said, “you were perfect.”

Caima nodded and said, “back to base?”

Scorpia went to the lizard and clambered up. “I’ll go back with you. Catra has… another job for tonight.” Catra smiled and waved as she began to run off in the opposite direction. She ran along the edge of the canyon like a tightrope walker. “I could be happy, just like this,” Scorpia murmured, “Catra needs something to fight for”.

Caima paused for a moment, then spurred the lizard toward camp.

****

“Kyle!”

“Yes, Scorpia?”

“Do you know if there’s an armorer in this city?”

“An armorer?”

“Someone that makes armor. Or a smith? Someone that makes things.”

“Oh yeah! There’s a scrap welder in town that makes things. In fact, this morning, Catra-”

“Catra isn’t to hear a word of this! In fact, you’re not to tell ANYONE about this for the rest of your life. This is something important!” Kyle resumed his typical look of anxious incomprehension. “Now, here’s what I need you to do…”

****

The Council Room was in chaos that night.

“Everyone just calm down!”

“They said they’d be back tomorrow!”

“They’re at the tents, right? We should just send someone to get them in their sleep.”

“You think that would work?” 

“It’s always worked before. Where’s the police captain? Shouldn’t she be guarding us?”

“She said she got injured fighting those… terrorists. First they attack our police, then they want to take over the whole city!”

“Look, we can just summon the rest of the police. They sneak into their camp, do their business, no more problem. It’s simple.”

There was a terrifying laugh from the darkness in the corner of the Council chamber. “We had the same idea.”

The council members turned to see Catra emerge from the shadows, claws out, grin full of teeth.


	5. Setting the Table

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get emotional. (It was bound to happen.)

Water Town woke up with hushed breath. People peeked out windows, whispered to their neighbors, and watched the sun crawl down the canyon wall. Just last night, two strangers had threatened the city and promised to return. No one wanted to be there when they came back. The only sound was the river.

The quiet was broken by a royal procession, if five people can qualify as a procession. Catra and Scorpia led the way, side by side. They had dressed as nicely as they could from their limited supplies, but that mostly meant clean clothes with no Horde insignia. Lonnie and Rogelio served as royal guards, looking stern as they could. Kyle brought up the rear, doing his best to read the official proclamation. 

“Uh… Everyone?” Kyle stuttered, trying to walk and stare at the datapad at the same time. “The city has been conquered! Please visit the market for the official beginning of a new nation.”

Scorpia shook her head. She turned her head and hissed, “Kyle! Say it better!” Kyle looked up, stumbled, and fell into the dust. 

Lonnie and Rogelio yanked him back up. “What are you doing? This is important!” said Lonnie.

The call wasn’t loud, but the people got the message. Behind the team, people followed cautiously, forming a loose crowd.

As the populace reached the market, they found Catra and Scorpia, not up in the alcove high above, but on a wagon, amongst the crowd. Catra stood straight, superficially confident, but Scorpia could read the nervousness in her posture. She stood with one foot on the lip of the wagon and held her arms wide. “We’re taking this city, right now. Anyone want to fight for it?” The crowd circling the wagon collectively crowded away. She prowled back and forth on the wagon, visibly shaking with nerves. “This is your chance! We’re here, and the Council is gone.”

The people erupted into shouts. “Murderers!” someone cried. 

Scorpia held out her pincers in a calming gesture. Catra smiled, genuinely pleased. “We wouldn’t kill them. They chose to leave,” she said, carefully examining her claws, “I explained that they are free to go.” Catra had been particularly amused to find the Judge was one of the Council that made the rules he “impartially” enforced.

Scorpia decided to skip the details and get to the point. “We have two announcements today. Most importantly, we need everyone to pick a representative. If you think someone knows this town, please pick them to speak for you. We want to help this town, to help you. Tomorrow we’ll meet with your representatives and see what you need, what we can do. Second, like we said yesterday, the town’s water is free to drink from this moment on.” At this, much of the crowd slipped away. “Make sure to tell your friends!” She called after them. Shouts came from the direction of the river. Shouts of joy, Scorpia hoped. 

She stepped down from the cart, and a police officer approached. “Is that everything? What are the police going to do? Without the income from the water contracts, how are we going to be paid?”

Scorpia was confused. “If your work was to enforce the contracts, and the contracts’ money just went to you, isn’t it the same if you don’t do anything?” The officer sputtered angrily and took an aggressive step forward. Catra grabbed their arm and yanked them aside. She hissed something in the police officer’s ear. They went pale and decided to walk away.

Scorpia knelt to look to a child that had approached. “Aren’t you a little charmer!” she cooed, “What’s your name?”

The child curtsied adorably. “Inkem.” Inkem had an enormous head of hair like an untamed lion’s mane. Their clothes spoke of wealth.

“That’s just wonderful. Shouldn’t you go back to your parents?” said Scorpia. 

“My father didn’t come home last night. Your friend said they chose to leave?” whispered Inkem.

“Your father was on the Council, and they left without you?” asked Scorpia.

The child’s face quivered, they were on the verge of crying. Scorpia tried to be positive. “I’m sure your father’s coming back, they just had to...go away? For a while?” The child started to take deep gasping breaths. “Look! You can just stay with the rest of your family for a while!” The child shook their head and began bawling, tears pouring down their face. Scorpia gasped and scooped up the child onto her shoulder, hugging them close and gently patting their back.

Catra came close. “Where are we going now?”

Scorpia distractedly looked at Catra. “Going?”

“Yeah, what’s the next target?” Catra started shadow-boxing, darting around and slashing at an imaginary foe. “There must be another city around here.”

“Catra, we could be here for a long time, there’s a lot of work to be done,” said Scorpia.

Catra grinned wickedly, “you’re right, we need to start working on the city’s defences. How do you even defend a hole like this?”

“Defences? From what?” asked Scorpia.

“Scorpia? Are you serious? There’s the Horde, the Princesses, bandits in the wild, those rich jerks are probably going to want to come back. I bet that police officer was working for them. Give the kid to someone and we’ll get to work.”

“Catra, this is a child. You don’t just give them away. They’re afraid, we need to do something.” Scorpia’s eyes grew wide. She had an idea. “Lonnie, ask around to see if anyone knows Inkem here. Catra, let’s go to the Council building. Now.”

Catra looked surprised, but nodded her head. Scorpia spoke gently to the child on her shoulder, “Hey kiddo, we’re going to find you a place where you can get some rest while we find your father.” As they walked through the town, people turned to the sound of crying and stepped out of Scorpia’s way, clearly frightened. Taking a child on their first day in charge. Scorpia knew it would look bad, but this was more important than appearances. 

When Scorpia was young, she tried to climb things. Her moms didn’t tell her she’d never be good at it because of her pincers. She didn’t mind that other children could do it better, she simply revelled in the physical effort. So she would climb and fall, climb and fall. She would get hurt, but since her parents were there she never felt that she was in danger. She still carried that sense of security in her heart, all these years later. Every morning she would look at the picture of her moms and remember what it was to be home, no matter where she was. What could Catra look to?

They entered the Council building and found a bedroom. Scorpia set the child down on the bed, still weepy. Catra looked impatient and confused. “What are we doing here? Starting a dormitory for children?” Catra demanded.

Scorpia sat next to Inkem on the bed and gently rested her pincer on their shoulder. “We may have to, some day,” she said quietly, “but right now, this child needs to know they’re safe.” She hesitated. She was terrified this would be the wrong thing to do. “When was the last time you were safe?”

Catra recoiled. “What are you talking about?”

“Inkem doesn’t feel safe right now. their parents aren’t here at the moment, and they’re not sure when things will be back to normal. Maybe you could tell her about a time when you were afraid?” Catra’s look of resentment made Scorpia choose another tack. “What makes you feel safe? Tell them.”

Catra stepped up to the bed, squatted, and looked to Inkem sobbing into a pillow, their head completely concealed by their mass of hair. She paused, thinking. 

“You’re safe right now”, Scorpia murmured, looking at both Inkem and Catra, “You don’t have to fight anyone, you could do whatever you want. You can rest. Sometimes you can just rest.”

Catra closed her eyes tight. She stood up and turned away. “You think this is my fault! This was our plan, together! How would I know they’d leave without their child!” Scorpia tried to interrupt, but Catra wasn’t listening. “I don’t know what you’re doing!” she blurted out, and she bolted to the door.

Scorpia turned back to the child, holding back tears. She had figured out the problem too late. It was no wonder Catra wasn’t acting the way Scorpia was planning. In the Horde, doing something for yourself warranted punishment. Of course Catra was looking for another fight, her whole life was fighting. Scorpia had spent all this time thinking about how to make Catra into a queen, pushing her into it, and Catra had never had a chance to be a child. 

“Everything’s going to be alright,” she said to Inkem, trying to make it sound like she believed it. 

Eventually, Rogelio came and took watch over the child, fast asleep. Scorpia thanked him and stepped quietly out into the corridor. She padded quietly through the stone halls, poking into rooms at random. She knew she had the right place when she found a room in ruins. Broken furniture and torn cloth was everywhere. In the center of a mauled bed lay Catra, her body rigid, her face down.

Scorpia stood in the doorway. “I meant it, Catra. You can just rest. I won’t bother you.” She took a deep breath, “And if you want, we can just leave. We don’t have to take over the Crimson Waste. Think about what you want. I’ll be there with you, no matter what.” She waited a moment, closed the door, and walked away.


	6. Missing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starting a society is messy, but mostly boring, so we skip it.

Scorpia awoke with a smile, before she remembered. The Council building was richly decorated, which meant that Scorpia had slept on a soft mattress for the first time in years. She had had to put a mat over the sheet first, to prevent the bed from being torn by her spines. And pincers. And stinger. Still, it was comfort she had almost forgotten with long years of sleeping on beds little better than bunks. She stretched luxuriantly in that morning haze until the events of the previous night came back to her.

She checked on Catra’s room first. It was devastated. Claw marks on the woodwork, the mattress and the blankets were reduced to tatters. The room was sorted, put into piles as though Catra had tried to reassemble the furniture from their base elements. She wasn’t surprised to find that Catra was gone. Had Scorpia pushed too hard? Had she completely misread the situation, was Catra disgusted to hear Scorpia suggest abandoning their dream? She must know that Scorpia didn’t blame her for the child. They’d find the father soon enough, and it would be fine. She knew that finding Catra would be impossible. She could only forge ahead.

She went to Inkem’s room to find Lonnie in charge. Someone had found some wooden toys and Lonnie was putting on a show. “...and then the princesses attacked! We were utterly overwhelmed! It was so fast, we didn’t even have time to execute our plan.” She swept the figures off the edge of the bed. “We all fell into the river and floated back home!” She laughed. Inkem’s eyes were huge with wonder. Scorpia coughed politely. Lonnie gave a start and smiled at her. “Inkem here loves stories!” Her smile turned wistful, “I forgot how much we’ve done together, it was nice to think about.” 

Scorpia smiled, “That’s lovely. Did you have any luck finding a relative for them to stay with?”

Inkem gasped and grabbed at Lonnie, who shook her head. “Not yet, I guess those rich types mostly stuck together. I sent Kyle to look for the father in the Waste. We’d let him back in town to retrieve his child, right?” Scorpia nodded. She walked contemplatively to the kitchen. 

Scorpia ate breakfast alone, trying to work out a plan. She could see the future she wanted so clearly. Catra, queen of the Crimson Waste. She would use her intelligence and ambition for the people, and for herself. They would make this corner of the world a better place. She could take pride in her successes. They could build something, instead of just tearing things down. She, they, could be happy. Of course, Scorpia could be there by her side, but that was secondary. She pictured the two of them, side by side, puzzling over a map. They would reach for a figure, Their arms brushing against each other, their eyes meeting… Scorpia sighed and put her head on the table. None of this mattered if she couldn’t figure out what to do. She had to focus. 

She felt like trying to salvage this situation was like one of those complicated tactical games they had done for training back in the Horde. Scorpia knew that her pieces were here, and she wanted them to be there, but she had always maneuvered with more optimism than planning. Ironically, the person with the most natural talent at those games had been Catra herself. She seized on a plan almost instantly, seizing territory with a growl of satisfaction before Scorpia could even figure out her general intentions. Scorpia smiled at the memory of Catra’s intense look of focus, hunched over the board and seizing pieces like they were deadly weapons before crashing them back onto the table. 

What would Catra do now? Something brilliant. Something that would shatter the current order and carve a new path in a direction no one had expected. Scorpia ruefully acknowledged that she simply didn’t have that ability. She had to forge ahead in her own way and hope that Catra would meet her there, ready to share her plans. She squared her shoulders as she stood. “I’m going out there and I’m going to make this work,” she said with as much confidence as she could muster.

Scorpia headed for the market. She had hoped that asking for representatives meant there would be less crowding, but the space was packed. She had no idea this many people lived in the canyon. What did all these hundreds of people do? Scorpia couldn’t enter the market proper through the crowd, so she simply stood on a box at the edge, next to a stall of woodworking tools. The crowd turned to her and fell quiet. It was only a moment of peace before someone stepped forward and waved a sheaf of papers at Scorpia. Her cap and elaborate robe indicated she was an official of some kind. She was large, and spoke passionately.

“You might be in charge here now, but you simply can’t make the water free,” She said. “It needs to be managed!” 

Instantly everyone was yelling for and against them. Scorpia waved her pincers for quiet and spoke as firmly as she could. “We said the water would be free, and-”

“The water contracts worked.” the woman insisted, waving around a handful of the contracts. Scorpia noticed her fingertips were blackened with the ink, “My name is Tahlli. I’ve been in charge of these records for years, and this way is the only way we can survive. Everyone gets enough water, and we keep a supply in reserve for the bad months.” 

“This… this isn’t a bad month?” Scorpia asked. The scribe smiled. There was amused laughter from the crowd.

“With respect, it is not. And when the bad times come, we will wish that we had properly managed the water supply. If we let anyone do whatever they want, we’ll have nothing. Yesterday, people were swimming in the water. Swimming! If you can call splashing and rolling around in knee-high water swimming.”

Scorpia couldn’t entirely disagree. “We do need rules,” she conceded, “but I will not see people die of thirst or wandering the Waste for lack of money. Drinking will be free, this I swear.” There was a ragged cheer from the audience.

Tahlli shook her head. She quickly held out a paper. “I’m afraid that is impossible. The water is owned. This is the deed. Only the owner can give it away, or choose its price.”

Without hesitation, Scorpia cut the paper in half with her pincer. “You don’t seem to know the meaning of the word conquered,” she said. Tahlli looked deeply offended. “Any of those papers that holds another person’s life hostage is cancelled.” Scorpia said. She looked past the scribe to the larger crowd. She shouted as loud as she could, “I know everyone wants to know what’s going on. For now, I can tell you to live your lives as you do every day. No one will be punished, we’re just going to find some rules we can all agree to. Please trust us. Only your representatives need to stay, everyone's concerns will be heard in turn.” She stood and waited patiently while a few people filed out of the crowd. Not many, but at least the people in the crowd had breathing room.

Scorpia smiled. “Let’s begin. It’s been suggested that we make some rules for the town’s water. Does anyone have some suggestions?” Hundreds of hands went up. This was going to be a long day.

The meeting was a mess. Deeds to buildings, rent payments, borders with neighboring towns, what to do with the Council building now that the Council was gone -Scorpia had some private thoughts on that one- how the town should raise money, all these issues seemed very pressing to the people bringing them up, but no one seemed to agree on where to start, not to mention any specific policies people could agree on.

As the meeting went on, enthusiasm turned to boredom for many in the audience. Discussion of plans and voting on proposals were important, but not exciting. Scorpia realized she needed someone to organize meetings and a system to determine how many people a representative stood for. Too many people with strange ideas pretended to stand up for the whole town when no one even seemed to know who they were. 

The crowd was less than half the size and the sun was disappearing over the canyon wall when Scorpia realized how long they had been going. She was hungry and sore from standing. “Everyone, we’ve been doing a great job today, but I think this is a good time to take a break. We’ll come back tomorrow morning.” There was a general sound of frustration. She shook her head and stretched her shoulders-

Catra was there. Right there. She had snuck into a gap in the roof of the nearby market stall and was peering out from it, watching Scorpia intently. She was so close they could almost reach out and touch.

The crowd had surrounded Scorpia, everyone was trying to present their private ideas for the city. Scorpia couldn’t escape Catra’s gaze. Her face was blank, unreadable. Then, for just a moment, Catra smiled. Scorpia smiled back, her heart in her throat. One of the crowd grabbed Scorpia’s arm in an attempt to gain her attention. She glanced down, and Catra was gone.

Scorpia took a deep breath and waded her way through the crowd, deaf to their words.

Back in the Council Building, Scorpia gathered the team for dinner. The status report was simple: Nothing. There was no progress on finding Inkem’s father, Kyle didn’t seem to have done anything at all, there had been no sign of Catra after her disappearance at the market. Scorpia found herself burning with frustration. “What are we supposed to do now?” she thought, only noticing from Lonnie’s look that she had mumbled it out loud. She stood and went to bed.


	7. Forget

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A change of pace.
> 
> We're getting near the end of my initial concept for this story. After that, there are three options: I go back and clean up/expand the existing chapters, I continue the story, (I have some ideas along those lines) or it's just finished. If you've liked this so far, please tell me what you think.

That one moment was all she saw of Catra that day. The next morning was no better. Scorpia visited Inkem again. Their red eyes and mussed face made it obvious they had been crying. Rogelio was patiently petting their head. “If we can’t find the parents today, you can find someone in town to look after them?” Scorpia said quietly. Rogelio nodded. They had raised children in the Horde, of course, but Scorpia doubted that was the best training.

Breakfast was becoming a strange affair as they ran out of ration bars and had to draw more from the local fare. Her plate was a mix of the regular rectangular bar and a strange shelled animal that the locals boiled before eating. Sorpia was surprised to find Lonnie leading Captain Oco and that scribe, Tahlli, into the room. “These two were standing outside, Force Captain,” Lonnie said, “They wanted to talk to you. It sounded like it was important.”

Tahlli looked intimidated and embarrassed, while the captain looked uncertain. The captain spoke first. “We’re sorry to interrupt you like this, but something needs to be done. Plenty of people in the city can go on with their lives, but there are people that work for the city and need to know they will keep their pay. Not just the police, but record keepers like her,” Oco said, pointing to Tahlli. 

Tahlli coughed, she lacked the fire she had the day before. What was she afraid of, Scorpia wondered, as she cracked a shell in her pincers to get at the meat inside. “To be clear, Madam, I am not a record keeper, or at least, not just a record keeper. I’ve managed the supplies of this town for years. The people have no idea how much work goes into that sort of thing.”

Scorpia thought, tapping her pincer against her chin. “I’ll make sure everyone gets pay for now, but the people will decide if they want to keep you. Is that fair?” The captain nodded, satisfied. 

Tahlli turned to the door to leave, then turned back, proffering another paper. “One of my staff kept a record of the meeting yesterday. It wasn’t structured in the, uh, traditional way, but we think we got the important resolutions.”

Scorpia looked at the paper. Here, in simple, short lines, was all the confusion of yesterday reduced to something with meaning. When she looked up, Tahlli and Captain Oco were already out the door. She ran after them. “You said something about a traditional meeting, right?” Tahlli nodded, uncertainly. Scorpia seized her in a great hug. “Oh, wonderful,” she enthused, setting her down. “Could I ask you a favor?” 

Tahlli nodded, gasping for breath.

==

Scorpia headed back to the market. On the way, she described to Tahlli how she wanted the day to go, and watched her jot down notes as fast as she could. It was nice to have someone with experience on the team. Tahlli had regained some of her confidence: “This isn’t too different from the petitions made to the Council, we’re just letting everyone vote before you make the decision.” Scorpia nodded uncertainly, not sure she wanted to be filling the shoes of her predecessors. Tahlli went on confidently, “My young people can get this thing in order.” Scorpia got the impression that Tahlli would call just about anyone young, regardless of their actual age. 

She didn’t like the idea of standing above the people, but she conceded the necessity of it. She led the discussion from the alcove above the market. She stood at the railing; she didn’t dream of sitting on the throne.

The day proceeded as slowly as the previous one, but with Tahlli’s staff interviewing people before they presented their ideas, at least people were talking one at a time. 

Everyone had something to say, and they were in no rush to get to the point. Scorpia had to suppress a yawn as a woman was explaining a plan about taxes even she seemed confused about. Suddenly the woman stopped talking. She, and the rest of the crowd, were all staring at something beneath Scorpia’s position on the canyon wall. Their eyes followed it up and up. As their gaze reached Scorpia’s alcove, so did Catra. She slipped in under the railing as though there was nothing unusual about climbing a cliff wall during a petition. She and Scorpia shared a tight smile.

Catra turned to the audience and shouted, “Everyone go home! It’s lunch time!” She sat nonchalantly at the foot of the throne and began to pull food from her pack. She lay it on the stone floor with forced casualness.

Scorpia slowly sat down across from her, hesitant to speak. 

Catra bit into a red fruit and spat out the rind. “This is ruling? This is being a queen?” She gestured to the stunned audience.

“It can be, if you want it to be.”

“I’m just glad I don’t have to lead these petitions, all these people do is talk!”

“It will probably get easier with time.”

They ate in silence. Scorpia was content to look at her.

Catra finished eating and stood in the shade against the rear of the alcove, arms crossed. “I could see how this goes.”

Scorpia took another grateful look before turning back to the railing. “I believe you were saying something about taxes?” She said to the confused speaker, who was clearly struggling to resume her initial point. She didn’t get a word out before there was another interruption.

“Catra, you let these people go!” That voice could only mean one thing. Scorpia’s heart sank.

Adora stood beneath them, the townsfolk stepping away in a widening circle. Her clothes were tattered, she looked exhausted and dirty, but her entire posture was one of defiance. 

Catra leapt to the railing beside Scorpia. “I knew you’d come!” she snarled. 

Scorpia had to do something. “Adora, We don’t need to fight! We’re done. We’ve left the Horde, we’re done with the war. We’re here to help this city!” she pleaded.

Adora was undeterred. “We met one of your victims on the way here! Abducting children? Catra tore up a bunch of old people and sent them out in the Waste, you call that saving this city?” She drew an improvised sword made of a plastic handle attached to a metal propellor as a blade. 

Scorpia felt tears at the edge of her eyes, they had been so close! “Adora, I swear, those people were bad for this town. They were bleeding the people of all they had. Even the Horde made sure that we could eat and drink!”

Adora cautiously lowered her sword a fraction. “If it’s true, if you’re really done with the Horde, just give us the sword.”

“The sword?” Catra said, clutching the railing so tightly it gouged the wood. It took a moment for her to remember what had happened in the First Ones’ ship, what felt like ages ago. “You don’t have it?” She laughed maniacally. “You’ve been following us for days, and just for that stupid sword? We don’t even have it!” Catra laughed again and wiped a tear from her eye, “Adora, you really are hopeless. And what happened to saving the town from us? You would have traded them all for your sword? Are you just looking for excuses to fight us now?”

Scorpia was scanning the crowd for more of the Princesses’ forces. They could be anywhere. She hadn’t thought to turn around. She turned too late at the shimmering sound. Her face was full of magic pink glitter, and she stumbled back over the railing. She fell, blindly turning in the air. Her leg hit stone, hard. She screamed in pain. She gritted her teeth, tried to focus. When her vision cleared, Adora was standing above her, levelling her improvised sword at Scorpia’s face.

“No more lies,” Adora said, “you and the rest of your Horde soldiers will leave this place, and you’ll give me the sword. Now.” Her face was iron.

Scorpia grimaced and clutched at her leg, hoping to convince Adora she was in too much pain to be a danger. It wasn’t hard to be convincing. Adora leaned over, concerned and suspicious. Scorpia took her chance. She grabbed the sword in her pincer and pulled it with all her strength. The exertion shot fire through her leg. Adora sprawled across Scorpia’s body as her claw snapped the sword in half. Adora struggled desperately, but Scorpia got a grip on her face. Adora froze, and Scorpia stared into her face, gasping. With one snip, she could end it all, right now. The thought died almost instantly. Despite her pain, she couldn’t find the malice to simply cut someone in two. And Scorpia hated to think of it, but she knew Catra would be devastated.

“Adora, listen to me,” She said between gasps, “We really don’t have the sword. If I could tell you where it was, I would. We left it when we left the ship. I’d bet those bandits took it with them.” Scorpia’s vision was narrowing. 

One of Adora’s friends, the one with the bow, stepped into view. “I think she’s telling the truth,” he said, “the detector Entrapta and I developed isn’t showing anything. It can’t be here in the city.”

Scorpia tried to grin, but it became a grimace. “Trust me?” she whispered.

Adora’s eyes narrowed, but finally, she nodded. Scorpia let her go and let her head fall back into the dust. She could hear the sound of the Princesses shimmering away in a puff of magic. She stared at the blue sky. All she could do was breathe in and out, every breath another shot of pain in her leg. 

Police Captain Oco and a stranger came into view. “Don’t worry,” said the stranger, “this will be over soon.” It all went dark.


	8. Forget Adora

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the last planned chapter. Like I said, if you want more of this, either more details in the existing chapters, or more story after this, please leave a comment to that effect.

Scorpia opened her eyes to Inkem’s face filling her view. She did her best to smile. Surprisingly, there was no pain. “What are you doing here?” She whispered. Inkem only stared. “Who’s looking after you?” Inkem looked past Scorpia, who turned to follow her gaze. Next to her in bed lay Catra, fast asleep. Scorpia couldn’t think of the last time she had seen her at peace. Selfishly, she decided to let her sleep. Every moment she was asleep was another moment they could be together, another moment they didn’t have to talk about Adora. 

There was a knocking on the door, and the stranger from before bustled inside with a cart of supplies. “How are we doing?” they asked. From their tone and smock, Scorpia assumed they were a doctor. 

“I don’t feel anything,” said Scorpia. “Just tired.” The doctor nodded in approval. “How long has she been here?” she asked of Catra.

The doctor manipulated Scorpia’s leg carefully around its splint. “She’s been here since you got here. It’s past midnight, I believe.” They stood back and looked Scorpia over. “Your leg will be fine. Don’t touch the splint and don’t put all your weight on it for now.”

“Why were you there? When I got hurt?” asked Scorpia.

The doctor smiled. “Since your people got here, the police captain has had me on retainer. She had a suspicion you two might cause some trouble. I don’t think anyone’s surprised to see she was right.” They brandished a potion and put it at Scorpia’s mouth. “I’d tell you to get some rest, but once you’re done drinking, you won’t have a choice.” 

They were right.

****

When she woke up, Scorpia found she could hobble around without assistance and only a little pain, but Lonnie insisted she stay inside for the day. “Rogelio’s went to help with today’s petitions, it will be fine. Take care of yourself! Also, Kyle brought something for you. Said you had requested it?”

Scorpia took the package and thanked Lonnie. That did it. There were no more excuses. It was time to make this official.

Scorpia found Catra in the Council Room, alone. She was making notes on a map of the Waste. There were deep lines under her eyes. Scorpia carried a dinner tray into the room and set it on the table, covertly hiding her package underneath. She forced herself to be casual. “Have you eaten today?” she asked, “I had the chef make something for us, did you know this place had a chef?”

Catra made a noncommittal noise, took the plate from the tray and gave Scorpia a half-smile before turning back to the map. Scorpia sat down across from her and took a plate for herself. She tore into a slab of meat.

“It gets dark so much earlier in the day down here!” Scorpia enthused, trying to brighten the mood, “It’s no wonder they have all these candles. And this table!” Scorpia banged her pincer against the table with a loud crack, “It’s like they needed everything to be expensive and pretty, even in a secret room that no one would ever see! Is that what all the money was for? Huge tables, secret rooms, art piled up in storerooms, private chefs making,“ Scorpia took another bite of her meat, “making really good food? I guess I understand that one. But what kind of person charges people just to live, when they don’t even get anything from the money?”

Catra just stared at the map. She nibbled at a fruit, absently. This wasn’t working. What to do?

Scorpia lifted her cup, “To the Crimson Waste”. 

Catra looked up with a strange, indecipherable face as she lifted her cup. “To the queen of the Crimson Waste”

Scorpia coughed awkwardly, uncertain. It was now or never. “Speaking of that, I’ve been thinking lately, and well, I got you something, wildcat.”

“What? Like a present? It’s sappy,” Catra took a deep breath, “but I got something too, actually.”

As one, not meeting each others’ eyes, they both reached under the table and held out their gifts. There, between them, so close they were almost touching, were two crowns.

“You got me a crown?” yelped Catra. Scorpia was too stunned to say anything at all. Catra dropped her crown onto the table like it burned her hands. She lurched back over her overturned chair, stumbled back, held out her hands and made little frightened noises.

Scorpia scratched the back of her head and mumbled the words she had practiced a hundred times, “A queen needs a crown, right?”

Catra shook her head, “No! Me? A queen? You’re the princess! You’re in charge! You made all those decisions, they like you… I mean, your parents are... gone, right? You’re literally a queen! You’re their queen!”

Scorpia stood up, pushing the table aside. Food and crowns crashed to the floor. She limped to Catra and whispered, “But you’re my queen.”

Then she leaned in for a kiss. 

\-------

Catra returned it with only confusion on her face. 

Catra put her hand to her lips slowly, her eyes wide. “What’s that?” She whispered.

“Oh my,” Scorpia whispered back, “I keep forgetting you missed Force Captain Orientation…”


	9. Figuring Things Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, people.

Love was not forbidden in the Fright Zone. Hordak knew enough about psychology to know that forbidden love would be even more appealing. Instead, love was shamed. Love, affection, especially physical intimacy, they were all labelled as weakness, something that was practiced by the enemy. In a society where any form of weakness was to be (sometimes literally) beaten out, love became something no one could admit, even to themselves. When two people grew in affection it was labelled as camaraderie, and even that was unofficially discouraged. 

The ideal Horde soldier was so exhausted that they had no time for feeling. Scorpia knew for a fact that when soldiers were found with time for themselves, they were set at useless tasks to maintain that exhaustion. Life in the Fright Zone was a physical and emotional numbness, only occasionally brightened by stolen moments of friendship in between assignments. Scorpia never believed in the rumors that Hordak had the field rations treated with hormone suppressants, but that was only because she suspected he wasn’t actually that good a scientist. If he was capable, he definitely would have done it.

Before Force Captain Orientation, an average Horde soldier picked up bits and pieces of what love and sex were, but they knew nothing of the world that Scorpia had grown up in. A family where affection grew and multiplied like a fire that burned without consuming its fuel. Training dwelt solely on how romance could be exploited for a psychological advantage over the enemy. Scorpia remembered suffering through that training, squirming in her too small chair, trying to figure out how to enunciate the power of the fire that still burned in her, its beauty, but she couldn’t think of the words. How could you tell someone that opening yourself up could be wonderful? She knew that real weakness was to wrap yourself up in fear and despair so tight that everything in the outside world seemed like a threat. But she was afraid of speaking out. What a fool she had been.

In her initial moment of panic, Scorpia had feared that Catra knew nothing about sex. It gradually became clear that she was aware of the general concept, she had simply never had a chance to explore it. Being kissed when she felt threatened must have felt like an attack. Scorpia clumsily apologized and set out to rectify what the Horde had done. Fortunately, the Horde Captain field manual had a biology section, and Kyle was sent to find a book for the more emotional side of things. 

Scorpia tried to explain how love and affection and passion were intertwined, not sure that it made any sense. She tried to avoid talking about her own feelings. If she tried to explain her adoration of Catra, it would be an enormous pressure on Catra to reciprocate those feelings. They had more success on the physical side of things; sex was more concrete and measurable. Over time, Catra became more and more frustrated with studying, something that Scorpia recognized in her posture all too well. Eventually, she tossed the book aside, grinned and purred, “Why don’t we just try something?”

Scorpia took a moment to compose herself. “You’ve got a lot to learn, and I’d love to show you, trust me. But shouldn’t you do this with someone you find attractive?”

Catra ran her fingers along Scorpia’s bicep. “We could just start here, and see where it goes.” Scorpia shuddered and forced herself to try one more time. She didn’t want to take advantage of Catra.

“Catra, you have feelings for Adora,” she managed, at barely a whisper. She felt like there was nothing in the world but Catra’s fingers lightly tracing her neck.

Catra snorted. “Yeah, she drives me crazy.”

Scorpia shook her head in frustration. “No, I mean... it’s... you and her-” she looked up, “ You know what?” She squared her shoulders like she was setting off on a risky mission, “Fine. Let’s go for it. It’s not like we’re getting married.” 

Scorpia was shocked to see Catra’s face fall. “We’re… we’re not?” she said, her voice full of wounded innocence. 

Scorpia froze. What had she done now? How could she- 

She narrowed her eyes and peered at Catra suspiciously. She had seen that face before, but it had never been sincere.

Catra laughed outrageously. “I had you! I knew you’d fall for that romantic stuff.” She grabbed Scorpia’s neck, pulled her in closer, “I’m always,” she breathed, “a step ahead.”

They kissed again. This time was much better. 

///////

After making out, Catra sat on Scorpia’s lap and they flipped through the romantic manual like it was a menu. 

“We could try this,” Catra said, pointing at an image. 

“With my pincers and your claws? I don’t think so,” said Scorpia.

“Well how about this?” Catra asked of another picture.

In the Waste, they had occasionally hunted to supplement their ration bars. When gnawing on a bone covered with gristle, Catra would lick at it, her rough tongue tearing off chunks of meat as wide as a hand. Scorpia closed her eyes and tried to push the image from her thoughts. 

“I don’t think that would work... for both of us at once.” She eventually said, trying to think of anything else.

“Look,” Scorpia said, trying to turn the pages as carefully as her pincers would allow, “if you really want this, we could just start here. Simple.” Internally, she flinched. ‘Simple’ was not a word Catra took as a recommendation.

Catra nuzzled her face into Scorpia’s. Scorpia was buried in Catra’s rough fur. She just breathed it all in, overwhelmed. “Sure,” Catra rumbled, “where do we start?”

Scorpia almost didn’t want to start. This moment, the two of them so close, was perfect.


	10. The Two of Us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Get a room, you two.

Deep in the night, Catra and Scorpia snuck out of their room in only their underwear. Scorpia carried sheets and blankets over her shoulders. Catra led Scorpia through the dark corridors of their new home, their bare feet padding against the stone floor. Scorpia felt giddy, like a child sneaking around home after bedtime. “We’re almost there,” Catra whispered, “Just here.” She opened a door to a small closet with shelves of tools and a ladder leading up the wall to the ceiling. She clambered up the ladder and pushed at the ceiling, opening a trap door to the roof. She slipped out into the night air. 

Scorpia looked up at the stars through the gap. She gingerly climbed the ladder, doing her best to avoid damaging the rungs. Catra stood at the edge of the roof, gesturing grandly over the town below them, dim in the moonlight. “Look at that view!”

Catra’s body was silhouetted against the moonlight and torches that shone like stars in the town below. “It’s a great view,” said Scorpia, “and look at those lights.”

Catra stepped down from the edge of the roof, shivering. “Get that blanket down, it’s cold out here!”

“The sand up here is amazing. It’s so fine and soft.” Scorpia said as she laid out the blanket. “Do you think they had special sand hauled up to the roof?”

“I know! You just sink into it, it’s almost like water,” Catra said. She leapt on the blanket and pulled a sheet over herself. “Come on, get in here, warm me up!”

Scorpia was so excited about everything, she didn’t feel the cold. She slipped under the sheet, paying no mind to the damage she did to the bedding. Catra clung close to her side, under her arm.

Scorpia's breath caught. “We forgot that romance book! We were going to try-”

“Shhhh, I can figure it out,” murmured Catra.

*****

In the morning, Scorpia and Catra lounged on the roof, luxuriating in their improvised bed and watching the sunlight slip down the canyon wall. Catra got up and walked around the roof aimlessly, comfortable in her nudity. Scorpia wrapped the sheet around her as an improvised dress and joined her. She hoped there was no one looking down from the edge of the canyon, even if they’d look minuscule from that height.

“You can see the whole town from here.” Scorpia said.

Catra snorted. “Hardly, the canyon goes on for miles. I scouted it out when I… you know.” She hung her head. Scorpia didn’t pry, clearly Catra was still sensitive about the time she ran off.

Catra stretched her body and took a deep breath, letting it go explosively. “Is this what you were talking about? When you said we could forget the past? That we could be free? Be happy? This feeling?”

Scorpia shrugged, “Yeah, I think it is. I knew we could find something better than life in the Horde.” She tried her own deep breath. “Thanks.”

“Thanks? For what?”

“Thanks for believing me. For taking this chance.” 

Catra laughed. “With you and me working together? There’s no chance we’d fail.” She punched Scorpia’s arm. “Oh, that reminds me!” Catra grabbed Scorpia’s pincer. “I was working on a plan to defend the city. Come on, I’ll show you!” She pulled Scorpia to the trap door.

“Catra, shouldn’t you put on some clothes?”

Catra put her hands on her hips and posed dramatically. “What, do you want this all for yourself?” Scorpia nodded involuntarily. Catra jumped down the hatch as Scorpia scooped up their underwear. 

Catra led the way through the halls, Scorpia following in her bed sheet. Scorpia knew it was silly to hide her body from the team, they had seen each other in the showers after missions, but this felt far more private and intimate.

Anyway, even if Rogelio or Lonnie saw them in this state of disarray, Scorpia considered that a fair price for her view of Catra strutting down the hall. She knew Catra was putting on a show deliberately, she loved putting people off balance.

Scorpia was absorbed in these thoughts when Catra turned a corner into someone that wasn’t Rogelio or Lonnie. She stumbled back from the stranger, dropped into a defensive crouch, then jumped to hide behind Scorpia before the intruder could react.

She was tall, thin, and dark, her hair was short and tightly curled. Scorpia saw her face turn from confusion to fright to embarrassment. While Scorpia was trying to think of something to say, the stranger brought their hand up to cover their eyes so fast it made a slapping sound. She turned away and mumbled, “Excuse me, sorry, I just, I was asked to come here, and the door was unlocked?” They started to shuffle away down the hall.

Scorpia tried to maintain her composure. She was sure they made quite an image, a nude woman and an almost nude woman wandering through the halls of government in the morning. It didn’t help anything when Catra leapt onto her back for safety, her hands clinging to Scorpia’s shoulder plates and her toe-claws digging into Scorpia’s hips like needles. 

Suddenly Scorpia remembered. “Wait!” Scorpia said, struggling to chase after the stranger while holding her sheet up and wincing from Catra tightening her grip. “You must be the teacher we wanted.”

“Uh, that’s right? I’m Adia, at your service,” said the teacher, hesitantly looking up and just past Scorpia’s face. Scorpia realized that Catra was peeking out over her shoulder, hissing indignantly. This woman must be scared to death.

Scorpia tried to turn her wince of pain into a smile, “Would you excuse us for a moment?” She said as she backed around the corner, carefully keeping herself between the teacher and Catra’s body as she retreated out of view. Catra dropped to the ground as Scorpia dropped their underwear to the floor. Catra hurriedly got dressed as Scorpia adjusted her tattered sheet in a futile attempt at modesty. 

“What now?” Catra angrily hissed, “We can’t talk to her like this!”

Scorpia shrugged, “I don’t know!” she whispered.

They gestured frantically to each other until the teacher called out from around the corner. “Look, I can just come back some other time-”

“No, we’re sorry,” blurted Catra, “If you just go the other way down the hall, ask for Kyle, he’s probably got nothing to do. Actually, if this put you off, we’ll pay you anyway.”

“We really are sorry.” Scorpia insisted, “this isn’t OK, we shouldn’t have done this.”

There was a long pause. “Don’t worry about it, you see worse when you take care of kids,” the teacher said, but they could hear a forced casualness in her voice. The sound of her steps faded into the distance.

Scorpia was burning with embarrassment. How could they do this to someone working for them? She hadn’t agreed to be involved. “We can’t do this again,” she said.

Catra nodded. “Next time, we lock the doors.” 

Scorpia returned her serious nod, then grinned as she thought about ‘next time’. Impetuously, she gathered up a yelping Catra in her arms and ran back to their room, bed sheet forgotten.


	11. Coming Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to tell the world!

Scorpia looked over her increasingly meager choice of outfits. Even their durable Horde uniforms had taken a lot of damage in their time in the Waste. In the Fright Zone, they’d have been replaced long ago. Scorpia had sometimes wondered why Catra’s tights were inevitably torn. It became clear when Catra had impatiently “helped” her take off her clothes the other night. Almost all of Scorpia’s clothing had claw marks at this point, her clothes from last night were almost in tatters. “We should get someone to, you know, make us some more clothes,” she said to Catra, who was picking through a similar set of options, “someone out there must be able to create something that conveys that sense of authority we need.”

“Sure,” Catra said, “we still have all that money the Council was hoarding. Plus, we can sell their junk if we run out. Did you have an outfit in mind, or did you want to dress up for me again?” She grinned at her memories of Princess Prom.

“I don’t want to spend the city’s money on myself,” Scorpia said, holding up a stained dress, “but maybe we need to have some expenses.”

“The city’s money?” Catra squeaked, “We took this city, remember? It’s our money.”

Scorpia shook her head, but didn’t argue. She knew that Catra was just looking for a reaction.

Catra yanked on her shirt and tights, widening the tears in each, and began pacing the room, deep in thought. “OK,” she said, “Let me just explain the plan now. Here’s the city.” She snatched up a piece of Scorpia’s art chalk and began writing on a wall. Scorpia slipped under the blankets and watched her work from the bed. Did Catra never rest? She had tried to tell Catra to take the chance to relax before, but that led to her disappearing into the city. Surely at some point, Catra would have to learn to take a break.

Soon Catra had produced a map of the known Crimson Waste. Her plan for defending the city was simple, at least in the initial stages: it would be impossible to defend against invaders that reached the chasm walls, so a series of watchtowers would be needed to identify threats before they could get close. “We would need a highly mobile defensive force to intercept those threats,” Catra explained.

“And if they could travel well, they’d be able to communicate with the other cities in the Waste,” Scorpia chimed in.

“What? Sure, I guess they could.” Catra said uncertainly.

“The Crimson Waste is going to be one nation, one Queendom,” Scorpia said, “we’ll need to communicate. At first, we’ll need to let them know we’re in charge!” 

“I guess we’ll need to let some places know,” Catra said, frowning, “we definitely need to replace the gang running that ‘Valley of the Lost’ as soon as we can muster a force for it, but I don’t see much point in telling outlying sand farms that they’re technically in a new country.”

“When you’re a Queen, everyone in the Queendom is your charge. They’re yours to protect, even if they’re just living in a sand farm. They deserve to know that,” Scorpia said.

“So we’re going to be babysitting a whole desert’s worth of hopeless little outposts? What a stupid idea. No army could possibly be fast enough to protect the whole Waste. What’s the point of even talking to them, when we can’t protect them anyway?” Catra said.

“We’ll protect them,” Scorpia said with utter certainty, “we’ll figure out a way. And if someone does attack a town before we can defend it, we’ll destroy them.”

“But why? Most of these people couldn’t even cut it as Horde Infantry, and they’re all idiots,” Catra said.

“It’s because they can’t be soldiers that we have to protect them. They’re our subjects now,” Scorpia said, “or at least they will be, once we have the coronation.”

Catra put down her chalk and looked searchingly into Scorpia’s eyes. “You’re serious, aren’t you?” she asked, “You really care about them? You’re that naive? You don’t even know them! What’s a coronation?”

Scorpia explained the ceremony as best she could remember before inviting Catra to return to her plan for the Waste.

As Catra explained the necessity of recruiting and training new soldiers, she yawned hugely. She stretched and walked to the foot of the bed. “You get the idea, I’ll tell you the rest of it later,” she said, curling up into the bowl made in the blanket by Scorpia’s spread legs. Soon, she was snoring.

Scorpia slipped out of the bed to the door as quietly as she could. There was a lot to do. She needed to talk to the teacher to make sure everything was OK with Inkem, she needed to requisition some clothes, and she needed to go talk to Lonnie, Rogelio, and the rest of the team. They’d make the announcement tomorrow.

****

The team met in a small restaurant nearby. Kyle had found a store to purchase some clothes, Scorpia felt pleased that they looked more like locals now. The restaurant’s staff clearly didn’t know how to deal with the conquerors of the city marching in and asking for food like it was a military canteen, but they were quick enough to bring out the food once they realized they were expected to treat the team as ordinary customers.

Catra was reserved, but Scorpia couldn’t wait. “I have something to say,” she said, excited, “Catra and I are a couple now.” Catra leaned back and put her feet on the table, smirking.

Kyle choked on his drink. “Now?” he said, water pouring out of his nose. Rogelio grabbed his shoulder and slapped his back.

Scorpia was surprised by how well Lonnie kept her composure. “I’m sure we’re all very surprised by that,” Lonnie said, casting a significant look toward the others, “Congratulations.” 

Rogelio barked out encouragement. They all raised a glass.

Scorpia was delighted. “You probably didn’t notice this, but I had a crush on Catra for a while.”

Lonnie rolled her eyes. She was taking these surprises remarkably well. “Could I ask a question, Force Captain?”

Scorpia was surprised by her formality. “Of course.”

“Can we drop the pretending? This is clearly not a Horde operation, and we’re clearly not out here for Hordak. You’ve quit the Horde and you’re starting a new life out here. We’re fine with that. Could you just tell us the plan?” She looked angry. “This entire city is on edge because no one knows what you’re going to do next, and we’re doing what we can, but we don’t even know what you want!” She crossed her arms and stared. Rogelio growled in agreement.

Scorpia was stunned. She had been spending all this time focussed on Catra to the exclusion of her duty. As a leader, she had to make sure everyone knew their role.

“You figured it out Lonnie,” Catra said, confident as ever, “you’re not as dumb as those two. You make a good point. We should let everyone know the plan. Assemble everyone important at the Council room. Tomorrow.” Catra paused. “How do you know how the people in the city are feeling, anyway?”

Lonnie snorted. “I ask them. Did you know people have been bringing you presents for making the water free? Once they’re done explaining how grateful they are, they always want to know what you’re actually doing here.”

“It’s just as well they don’t know what we’ve been doing the last two days,” Catra said, raising her eyebrows and sipping her coffee. Lonnie laughed and high-fived Catra’s outstretched hand. 

With that, the bubble of tension burst. They fell into a meandering conversation about this new life they had stumbled into, laughing and complaining like old times. 

Scorpia noticed that Catra had grown distant, staring at a corner of the room absently as Kyle said something or other. Suddenly, Catra stood up, knocking her chair over. “Wait, who’s taking care of Inkem? Where are they?” 

Lonnie shook her head. “They’re with the teacher, Adia, remember? Nice of you to realize it now, I guess, but we’ve been taking care of them. You two have been… distracted, so we made a schedule to take watch over them.”

Catra righted her chair and sat back down. “Good,” she said, “kids shouldn’t be left alone.” She looked around the table, “Thanks,” she whispered, looking down at her cup. 

Scorpia was surprised. Catra had shown no interest in the child before. If anything, she seemed to be avoiding Inkem. Why this sudden interest?

Catra was the first to suggest finishing the meal, and left without ceremony. As everyone stood to go, Lonnie grabbed Scorpia’s arm. “Could we talk for a moment?” she asked. Scorpia nodded.

Lonnie led Scorpia into an alley. They took a narrow stair that went up to a roof and sat on the edge, watching the townsfolk pass below. 

“So it’s official,” Lonnie said, “you did it. You’re a couple.”

Scorpia grinned and blushed. “It’s like a dream come true.”

“But why?” Lonnie asked, “Why do you want to be with her?”

“Seriously?” Scorpia asked, “She’s amazing. She’s brilliant, and beautiful, and she’s so quick.” Scorpia hung her head. “She’s everything I’m not. The real question is, why did she pick me?”

“Did she not tell you?” Lonnie asked. Scorpia shook her head. “What has she told you?” 

Scorpia looked at her blankly. “Told me about what?”

Lonnie looked surprised for a moment, then shook her head with a knowing look. “You’ve spent this time together, and she’s still not said anything nice about you, has she. She still needs to be on top.”

“Oh, Catra doesn’t need to do anything like that,” Scorpia said, “I’m just happy to be with her, I don’t want to make trouble.”

Lonnie pinched her nose. “Imagine that Catra did talk to you. Imagine she said, ‘you’re beautiful, you’re strong, and your warmth and joy brightens up every room you’re in.’ Does that sound good to you?” 

“That doesn’t sound like Catra, you know that.”

“Fine. Imagine she said, ‘you’re a screw-up, but you’re cute.’”

“That sounds more like it,” Scorpia said, laughing, “but what I want doesn’t matter.”

“What you and Catra want is the only thing that matters. A relationship only works between equals. If you just try to be whoever she wants, you’ll hate it and she’ll learn to not trust you. You love her, how does she feel about you?”

Scorpia thought back to the time they’d spent together. Lonnie’s question had put it all in a different light. Was Catra just tolerating her presence? Were all her little jabs just another game she could win? They had slept together, and Catra had definitely enjoyed it, considering her insistence they try it again (and again), but that didn’t mean they were a permanent thing. Was Catra just enjoying the ride until she found someone else? Scorpia’s mind leapt to Adora. She knew that Catra loved her. Scorpia was afraid to bring up the subject. Last time she had tried it, it led to her seducing Catra. Scorpia grinned to herself, maybe she should try talking about it after all…

Lonnie stood. “I know you’ll do the right thing, Scorpia, I just don’t want you to get hurt. There’s a lot of people out there who’d give you a chance, you know. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“Hey Lonnie,” Scorpia said, “how do you know all this stuff?”

Lonnie laughed. “Look at me,” she said, brushing her hand over her body, “you think I’ve never had someone following me around like you’ve been following Catra?” She reached out to gently touch Scorpia’s face. “Believe me, if you don’t figure this out, it won’t be good for her either. She needs the real Scorpia, not the Scorpia that thinks she doesn’t deserve happiness.”

“Thanks Lonnie,” Scorpia said, “I’m going to say something.”

“Great. Let me know how it goes, OK?”

Scorpia watched her go, and sat, and thought.


	12. Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This has one of the scenes I've been looking forward to for a long time.

Scorpia and Lonnie found Catra with Inkem and Adia in what had become a makeshift play room. Inkem played with some toys while Catra watched them from the opposite corner of the room.

“The teacher has to go soon, so I was keeping an eye on them.” Catra said. Her face was haggard. “Bye,” she mumbled, and slipped past Scorpia and Lonnie into the hallway. Scorpia looked to Lonnie, who waved at Scorpia to follow Catra while she watched the child.

Scorpia loped after Catra, who abruptly turned around. “They’ll be OK, right?” Catra asked, hoarsely.

“Who, Inkem?” Scorpia asked, “Of course! We’ll take care of them until their father gets back, they’ll be fine.”

Catra turned and darted away. Scorpia followed, not understanding.

*****

The Council room was as they left it in their excitement. The grand table was upside down, Catra’s maps and miniature markers were scattered on the floor. The two crowns sat there accusingly.

Scorpia had put a lot of thought into her crown for Catra. The dark gold would offset her tan fur. Not too substantial, she didn’t want to remind Catra of her Horde helmet. Two gems complimented Catra’s eyes, a brilliant yellow diamond and a deep blue sapphire.

Scorpia picked up the crown Catra had given her. She was startled by the weight of it. It was utterly black, yet it glistened like oil in the candle light. The inset red gems had a strange depth, Scorpia felt like she could almost see something inside as she brought it closer to her eyes. It was stunning. She turned to Catra, who was struggling to return the table to its feet. She helped flip it over and then set the crowns on the table. Catra picked hers up.

“I was just thinking,” Catra said, turning her crown around in her hands, “for the past week, you thought I was going to be Queen, and all those times you were looking to me, you were waiting for orders! You really messed stuff up.”

“You were doing the exact same thing, wildcat,” Scorpia said, “I can’t believe we made it this far without anyone in charge.” 

Catra sprawled out on the table, and scratched at her crown’s surface with her claw. “The people here are weak. They saw who we were and knew to give up.”

“What will you tell them tomorrow?” asked Scorpia.

“The plan? You’re saying you don’t have one?” asked Catra.

“I want to make sure the people are happy and safe. That’s my plan,” said Scorpia.

“You idiot, that’s not a plan. Before we can do anything like that, we need control. We need people loyal to us running things. Oco controls the police, so that should be fine. Tahlli and her staff run the books, we can use her to manage money and supplies. And if we’re going to rule the whole Waste, we’ll need-”

There was a knock on the door. “May I come in?” It was the voice of that teacher, Adia. She slowly opened the door, carefully peeking around the corner. Scorpia thought with embarrassment at their first encounter. Adia stepped into the room and stood stiffly at attention. “Please allow me to speak. Your treatment of Inkem has been inadequate.”

Catra sat up and growled. “Where do you get off telling us what to do?”

Adia stood even straighter, looking past them at the wall. She was sweating, despite the chill of the underground room. “I realize you two are in charge, but I have a responsibility to the child.”

Catra slipped down to the floor and stepped toward the teacher. “What are you trying to say?”

Adia looked Catra straight in the eyes. “Children need stability. Safety. Attention.”

“What they need is to be left alone! You think Inkem has it hard?” Catra demanded, “Do you have any idea what-”

Scorpia put her pincer on Catra’s shoulder. “What should we be doing?”

“First of all, they need to know what’s going on. I understand that their father is… missing?” Catra flinched at that. “And you intend to give them back?” Adia relaxed slightly at Scorpia’s nod. “You need to tell them all that. Right now, they’re confused, but they can understand the situation if you explain it. This is going to be a tough time for them. They need a regular schedule: I could take Inkem to a school for the day, they’ll benefit from meeting other children. You could hire a caretaker for the rest of the time. I could write up a daily schedule.” With Scorpia’s nod, she hurriedly went out the door. 

“She’s tough,” Scorpia said.

“Her? She’s nothing but bones. I could take her down no problem.” Catra said.

“Exactly,” Scorpia said, “can you imagine what it took to stand in front of us and say all that?”

After a long silence, Catra spoke. “What if their father doesn’t come back?”

“Then we’ll figure something else out. But what kind of parent would just abandon their child?” Scorpia asked, not noticing Catra’s reaction.

*****

That night, Scorpia was surprised to find Catra talking to Inkem in their bedroom. She was stroking their hair and whispering, “...and if anyone does something you don’t like, you have to tell me, OK? I’ll make sure they don’t do it again.” When she saw Scorpia enter she jerked in surprise.

“I was just explaining to Inkem that we were going to be taking care of them for a while,” she said, “I think they get it.” Inkem nodded solemnly.

“You’re not much of a talker, are you, kiddo?” said Scorpia.

“They don’t have to talk if they don’t want to!” Catra said, defensively, “They’re… going through a lot.” She rested her hand on the child’s head. “They’ll do whatever they want.” Inkem grabbed Catra’s hand with both of theirs. “OK, time to go to bed, little one,” Catra said, gently pushing Inkem to the door.

Inkem resisted the push and instead walked to Catra and Scorpia’s bed, pulling Catra’s hand behind them. Catra allowed herself to be led. She mouthed to Scorpia, “What do I do?” Scorpia shrugged her shoulders. She realized she didn’t even know if Inkem had an assigned bed. Inkem clambered up the bed awkwardly, still holding Catra’s hand. Catra yielded and lay down in bed beside them. 

Scorpia stood in the door, not sure if she should go and find another place to sleep. She didn’t want to scare the child, and she feared she might hurt them with one of her spines. She took a step back into the hall. Inkem let out a whining noise. 

“You heard the kid, you coward,” Catra said with a smile, “get over here!” 

Scorpia hesitantly walked to the side of the bed opposite Inkem and lay next to Catra.. She could hear Catra whispering again, “We’ll find a place for you. I won’t let them do to you what they did to… You have to make sure to tell me, OK? Tell me anything that happens.”

When Scorpia woke up, Inkem was sleeping between them.

*****

Catra laid out her plans to the Council Room. Tahlli was taking notes furiously, and Captain Oco paid close attention. There were other officials that must have some role in the city, but Scorpia had no idea who they were.

Once Catra finished, she sat next to Scorpia. Tahlli stood and looked over the others as though asking for permission to speak. “All of these plans seem completely feasible, but they must be budgeted. For example, there are only so many people with the skills to build watchtowers of the type you describe, and they have other work to do. They need pay. We’d need to procure materials.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Scorpia saw Catra looking at her curiously. Like she was trying to figure out a puzzle. Catra’s eyes flickered down, then back to Scorpia’s face. Scorpia looked down to find that Catra was resting her hand on Scorpa’s pincer, and she hadn’t even noticed. It was a sad imitation of holding hands, Scorpia thought, when she didn’t even notice it was happening. Scorpia smiled, but Catra’s penetrating look was unchanged. Catra extended a claw to tap the pincer’s surface. It clicked like a pencil against plastic. It may as well have been tapping the table, for all that Scorpia felt. Catra’s eyes never left Scorpia’s face as her hand slid slowly up the hard surface of her pincer. Her fingers reached the edge of her carapace at her elbow and lightly traced the curve. She was so close to touching Scorpia’s skin. Agonizingly slowly, Catra pulled her hand away. Scorpia let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Suddenly, Catra’s hand snapped forward to the skin of Scorpia’s arm.

Touch.

Scorpia’s eyes closed. She felt the tough pads of Catra’s fingers, the fur that poked between them, the tips of her claws just barely making contact, the heat of her body. Her gentle caress transported Scorpia back to their touching not so long ago, when she had accidentally seduced Catra. This time it was different, especially in front of all these people-

Scorpia realized no one was talking. The only sound in the room was her drawn out groan. She opened her eyes. 

Lonnie’s head was buried in her hands. Rogelio was looking into a corner of the room, Tahlli was pretending to make notes, peeking up at them through her hair dangling before her face. The other officials were all carefully looking uninterested. Captain Oco was openly staring with a huge smile. “You two are cute,” she said, breaking the silence. 

Scorpia’s blush was fire on her face and chest. Catra didn’t acknowledge their attention. She edged her seat closer to Scorpia, the wood scraping loudly against the stone floor. She wrapped both hands around Scorpia’s bicep and leaned against her side. “Excuse me, Tahlli,” she purred, “I don’t think Scorpia heard all that.”

“Ah, um, of course. As I was saying,” Tahlli said, still pretending to stare at her notes, “There are some things we can proceed with immediately. I assume you’ll want to go ahead with the coronation as soon as possible? The theater should be ideal.”

Catra’s rumbling purr was pouring into Scorpia’s side. She realized there was no way she’d be able to follow the meeting if she didn’t pull away. She didn’t move a muscle. Scorpia had never liked to make an issue about being unable to feel people most of the time, she hadn’t realized what she was missing. She felt like she was going to float away.

As the officials left, they bowed to Scorpia. Tahlli was last to the door. “Uh, Before you go,” Scorpia called, still not wanting to pull away from Catra’s hold, “there may have been some things I missed? During the meeting? Could you make a copy of the notes, when you get the chance?”

Tahlli bowed again. “Of course, Your Majesty. Is there anything else?”

“Queen Scorpia is satisfied, Tahlli. You can go.” Catra said, waving her away.

Scorpia turned to Catra as the door closed. “Queen Scorpia? What about Queen Catra?” 

Catra yawned “We were taking too long to figure it out, so I figured it out for you. You were right here as I told them, were you not paying attention for some reason?” She cupped Scorpia’s cheek. “Was there something… distracting you?”

Nothing in the Fright Zone worked right. When a society punishes you for pointing out problems, nothing ever gets fixed. Scorpia remembered the tram that she had to ride sometimes. It would grind along slowly, then suddenly lurch ahead, completely out of control, leaving everyone inside shaking and breathless. Life with Catra left her with the same feeling. Off balance. Exhilarated. Catra had made her the queen as she sat there in a haze! Even now, Catra was grinning her private little grin, the one that said, “I won, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Scorpia leaned in for a kiss. She was going to do something about it.


	13. A Day Off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scorpia takes a day off.

“I think I’m going to take today off,” Scorpia said as she got dressed.

Catra was still lounging in bed, picking at a hole in the mattress. “A day off from what?” she asked.

“From all this,” Scorpia said, with a broad sweep of her arm, “I’m going to leave the Council Building far behind, and I’m going to see what this city is like. You said it went on for miles, I’ve only been in this little corner!”

Catra beckoned Scorpia to the bed. She reached out and stroked Scorpia’s hip. “Sounds like a waste of time to me,” Catra said, “You could take the day off with me…”

Scorpia was sorely tempted. Catra had taken every opportunity to touch her since she discovered how it affected Scorpia. It felt like she was a toy, and Catra was just playing with her to see her reaction. She shook her head. “I’ll see you tonight, OK?” She put her pincer to Catra’s face. Catra rubbed her cheek against the surface affectionately.

“I’m going back to sleep,” Catra said. She stretched her entire body, growling, then curled into a ball. Scorpia was tempted to stay. Instead, she did the rounds of the Council building, checking on Inkem and the squad.

As she left, she bumped into Tahlli, who produced a page of densely written notes. “Your majesty, the minutes of our discussion, as requested.”

“Thanks, but could you drop that off with someone?” Scorpia asked, “I’m not doing anything today.”

Tahlli looked offended at the idea. “Your majesty, there’s no end of work to be done, especially in light of your upcoming coronation. This is not the time to relax. Decisions have to be made.”

“I can’t make good decisions if I’m locked in a building all day, every day, Tahlli. Maybe you should try taking a day off someday. Anyway, decisions are supposed to be made by the people, not by me.”

Tahlli scoffed. “Be serious. If you’re going to be queen, you need to take a strong hand. My young people are already at work on Catra’s plans for defending the city, but there needs to be a plan for governing the people.”

“I am serious,” Scorpia said, “I want a city that could run itself without me. If I have to make every decision, things will never work.”

“Then why have a queen at all?” Tahlli asked.

“To protect them.”

****

Scorpia walked the city with no destination in mind. It felt good to do nothing; she had gone far too long without a chance to think. The canyon was crowded with buildings and narrow paths. The city was full of people, yelling and fighting and running and trading and arguing, it was all so alive. She found herself having to break up some fights, which she found frustrating. Everyone was quick to calm down when she picked up a few of the combatants, but people needed to learn to respect each other. As queen, it would fall to her to teach people how to care for each other.

It was wonderful to be the liberator of the town. She could hardly turn a corner without being approached by a citizen wanting to talk to her and she was all too happy to say hello. This was what she had dreamed of when she thought of leaving the Horde: a place where she could help people, instead of hurting them. She made a game of looking for high places and seeing how far she could see further down the canyon. After half a day of wandering she stumbled upon a small restaurant. Lunch was served gratis by a grateful staff. 

She sat at the window and marvelled at the variety of people and the size of the canyon. As she ate, she had an idea. “Could you deliver something to my house tomorrow?” She asked the slight chef, who was delighted at the idea.

“It’s simply an honor to give back to the person who got rid of that old Council,” the chef said, “Thanks to you making the water free, we’ll have no trouble making rent. You have no idea how much water a restaurant needs!”

“Rent?” Scorpia asked. 

“You know, we have to pay to keep our house and shop?” the chef said with a puzzled expression.

“Why?”

“Because someone else owns it, and we need it.”

“So you have to pay them just to live in your own house?”

“No, no, no. It’s not our house, legally. It’s their house, we just live there.”

Scorpia shook her head. “What? Of course it’s your house if you live there.”

The chef looked embarrassed. “I guess I’m not explaining it right.”

Scorpia pulled out a chalk and made a note to investigate this further as she finished eating. She strolled leisurely through the town back home, often stopping for a chat with another friendly face. She was talking to a nervous child about their family when she noticed someone familiar. She spotted Captain Oco approaching in the crowd. When their eyes met, Oco jumped as if shocked. She walked to Scorpia and said hello.

“I suppose you noticed me following you,” she said.

“Hmm....” Scorpia said, “I suppose I did?”

“We don’t mean anything by it, Your Majesty, but you are in danger when you walk the town. We thought it best if we kept an eye on you.”

“We?”

“Tahlli heard you were touring the town, so she told me.”

“I don’t know if I want you tracking me.”

Oco grinned. “I don’t know that I care. Taking over a city makes a lot of enemies. Any of the old council could hire someone to take you out at any time. If you got in trouble, there would be a lot of… problems.”

“If I’m not available, Catra can take over.”

“That’s what I’m talking about.”

Oco was still grinning, but Scorpia could tell she was serious. “You don’t understand Catra. She’s got a lot to learn about living outside the Fright Zone, but she’s going to be a great leader.”

“You might be right,” Oco said, clearly thinking Scorpia was wrong, “but think about it this way: Something happens. You’re captured or missing. The city starts to panic. What’s going to happen next? Catra, your… friend, is distraught and furious. What do you think she’d do?”

“I have no idea,” Scorpia said, “but she deserves this chance.”

Oco gave up. “Fine. You’re the boss. Just be careful, OK? I expected you to get into a fight with half the people you talked to. That one?” Oco pointed to a minotaur, “She tried to tear someone’s arm off for cheating at cards.”

“Goreador? She’s fine! I’m sure it was just a misunderstanding!”

Oco shook her head incredulously. “You really think that, don’t you?”

“Oh right!” Scorpia said, “by the way, I was wondering, where are all the police? I haven’t seen any since I left this morning.”

Oco turned serious. “We’re stretched thin right now. Most of us are guarding the abandoned estates of the former Council.”

“Estates? You’re saying the Council had even more stuff?”

“Of course they do. You didn’t think they all lived in the Council Building like it was some kind of barracks, did you?”

“Ah, of course not?” Scorpia said, “I knew they lived in… those things you said. Anyway, pull them all out. People need to be protected, not things.”

“No.”

Scorpia was surprised to hear such a blunt refusal. “What are you saying?”

“I won’t pull them out. Those estates are worth a fortune, and that fortune is going to be paying our salaries. If I told the police to leave them, they’d probably loot them personally and flee the city.”

“You don’t trust your own police?”

“I trust them to act like what they are: a gang. I thought you knew! Police are a gang hired by a city to stop other gangs from taking over. I keep them under control, but only while we keep the money moving. You’d rather have them taking a salary then just stealing whatever they can.”

Scorpia was so overwhelmed she felt like she could hardly breathe. It was like finding out your bunk was full of slime roaches. “What… what can we do?” she managed.

Oco reached out and grabbed her claw. “We keep the money moving. I hate to be the one to tell you, but this is the Crimson Waste, not a Princess sleepover.”

“What am I going to tell Catra?”

Oco laughed. “Her? I assumed she was already getting a cut.”

Scorpia couldn’t take any more. She turned away and walked home, lost in thought. She knew something had to be done. She needed more time to think. Was it this hard to be Queen for her moms? They had only ever talked about how to be a good queen, not how much it must have weighed on them. For the first time in years, Scorpia fell back into her fantasy of seeing her parents one more time. What she would give to talk to them again.

****  
Scorpia found Catra in their bedroom and explained what Captain Oco had said about her police. Catra was unsurprised. 

“They’re on my list,” she muttered, “I don’t have a plan yet. It’s OK for now, I think.” 

Scorpia wasn’t exactly relieved. Remembering her plan for Catra, she decided to make her first move. “Catra, could you make some time tomorrow? I want to show you something.”

“What is it?” Catra asked.

“It’s a surprise.”

“Keeping secrets now?” Catra grinned, “I think I know how to extract secrets from a rebel-”

The door creaked open and Inkem blithely walked into the room. Scorpia made a mental note to lock the door. They both looked at the child, not knowing what to do.

“I have to tell you something, Cat.” Inkem said quietly. The room became tense. Catra had demanded the child tell her if someone did something to them, had it already happened after a couple days of school?

Catra’s claws extended, but she kept a neutral face. “What did they do to you?”

Inkem’s face brightened. “I saw a bird!” they said, spreading their arms wide.

“What?”

“It was swimming around in the water, and teacher told us about swimming, and then the bird looked at us, and then we all went back to class.” Inkem made a face like they were struggling to remember the next part of the story.

“Just tell me what’s wrong.” Catra said.

Inkem ignored Catra and looked around the room curiously. They walked over to the picture of Scorpia’s parents. “Who’s this?” they asked, picking it up. Scorpia reflexively gasped. Catra darted over and snatched the frame from Inkem’s hands.

“That’s not for you!” Catra barked. 

Inkem froze, and sniffled. Scorpia stood up to go to the child, but Inkem grabbed at Catra’s leg and started to cry.

“It’s OK!” Catra pleaded, “That picture is very valuable! I just wanted to know if anything had happened to you today, it’s OK. Really.”

Inkem continued to cry, softly.

“You don’t need to tell me about birds,” Catra said, “I just need to know if anyone does something wrong to you.”

“How would they know?” Scorpia asked, “I never realized what was wrong when I was that young. I only thought about how things could be different when I met-” Scorpia blushed and Catra smiled.

Catra grabbed the child by the shoulders and put them on the bed. “OK, just tell me everything.”

Inkem rubbed their red eyes and did their best to explain what they had done in school, but only got to lunch before falling asleep.

“They’re starting to open up,” Scorpia said, pleased, “What a little trooper.” Catra said nothing. Scorpia carried the child back to their bedroom.

When Scorpia returned, Catra was thoughtfully looking at the picture. “I didn’t mean to scare them. But this is the only picture of your parents, right? What if it broke?”

Scorpia’s eyes welled with tears. She hugged Catra from behind.

Catra scratched at Scorpia’s claws. “Stoooooop,” she whined.

“Nope,” Scorpia said, “This is a moment.”

Catra grabbed at Scorpia’s shoulder and slipped up and out of her grip. She squirmed behind Scorpia’s neck and lay across her shoulders like an oversized collar. “This is more like it,” Catra purred, “maybe we could travel around like this from now on.”

Scorpia laughed while trying to find a comfortable angle for her neck. Catra’s tail was brushing her face.

Catra idly swung her legs. “You really could carry me all day, huh? How strong are you, anyway?” 

Scorpia laughed more awkwardly and made a dismissive sound. She knew her strength marked her as someone different. 

“No, really,” Catra said, leaping to sit on the bed, “I want to see. Lift up this bed.”

Scorpia wedged her pincers beneath the bedframe and lifted Catra up to eye level. “Where do you want me to put it?” She asked. Catra just looked at her with wide eyes.

Catra leaned forward and reached out to put her fingertips at the base of Scorpia’s neck. “Stand still,” Catra breathed. With a single motion, her claws sliced a line along the collarbones of Scorpia’s top. Scorpia let it fall to the floor, leaving her in just her bra. Her heart raced. There was that exhilaration, not knowing what would happen next.

Catra stared hungrily at Scorpia’s chest and arms. Scorpia was entranced by her eyes. Catra suddenly stood, causing the slightest tremor in the bed’s stability. She spread her legs and shifted her weight from side to side, watching Scorpia’s body adjust to the change in balance. Scorpia felt more exposed now than she had when she was naked. 

She had never seen Catra look so unguarded. Suddenly it occurred to Scorpia: this was her chance to turn the tables for once, to show that she was more than a toy to be played with. 

Suddenly, Scorpia dropped the bed, only catching it just before it hit the ground. It slipped and one of the legs banged into the floor. For the first time in her life, Catra lost her balance. She spilled over and tumbled to the edge of the bed with a squeal. Catra’s look of offended shock turned into a predatory grin. As Catra began to rise, Scorpia pinned her shoulders down with one pincer and ran the other along Catra’s back, slicing her top in two. Then she lifted the bed back up and brought Catra’s face to hers. “You know, Catra, maybe-”. Catra surged forward into a kiss that nearly knocked Scorpia over. Catra pulled off the remains of her top as she pressed into the kiss, pushing Scorpia’s head back. 

“How long could you hold this bed up?” Catra panted.

“How long do you want?” Scorpia asked, trying her best to imitate Catra’s bravado. 

“I bet you don’t last a minute,” Catra said.

Scorpia rolled her eyes. “That’s nothing.” 

“If you can do that trick, then I’ll do a trick for you, how does that sound?”

Scorpia was trembling all over, but not from exhaustion. “Sounds good to me, Cat,” she said.

“You’re on,” Catra said, leaping off the bed. Scorpia focused on keeping it level. Catra circled behind her slowly. “Starting to sweat?” she purred.

Scorpia tried to look at her over her shoulder. “Maybe, but I’m good. This bed really isn’t that-”

Catra’s fingertips ran along the small of her back, the claws just scraping along her skin.

Scorpia gasped and the bed slipped from her claws, crashing onto the floor.

Catra laughed outrageously. “Oh, that’s _too_ good!” she said. She slapped Scorpia’s side. “We’ll have to find something heavier for you to lift later.”

“Why not now?” Scorpia asked. She would never have expected to enjoy this so much.

“We’re not going _anywhere_ tonight,” Catra said, locking the door.

////  
Later.

“If I had won, what would you have done for me?” Scorpia asked.

“How would I know?” Catra said, “I don’t play to lose.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story has cops. I had planned on critiquing that institution more indirectly, but thought I should be clear about it, given the entire ACAB issue. Cops are bad, and they need to stop.


	14. Scorpia's Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scorpia has something to show Catra.

Scorpia woke up with Catra sprawled across her chest, her head under Scorpia’s chin. Scorpia carefully tried to grab Catra’s shoulders to move her aside without waking her up. Catra slid across Scorpia’s body with a groan. Scorpia tried to inch away, but Catra tensed and her claws found Scorpia’s stomach. Scorpia knew better than to try to move with those hooks pressing at her skin.

“Where are we going?” Catra asked, groggily.

“What are you talking about?” Scorpia asked as she pulled Catra’s hand away and quickly escaped the bed. 

“You said you had a surprise for me today,” Catra said through slitted eyes. 

“Catra, it’s a surprise!” Scorpia said, “I’ll tell you when it’s ready.” She went to their shared pile of clothes and began to dress. 

Catra crawled under the blankets to the foot of the bed. Her face poked out as she said, “Just tell me now so I can go back to sleep.”

“It’s in the evening, I have to get it all ready,” Scorpia said with a laugh.

“OK, I’ll go with you.” Catra said, slipping limply out of bed.

“Catra, if you come with me, I can’t make it a surprise,” Scorpia said as Catra joined her and began to pick around their clothes for something to wear.

“There’s no way I’m letting you win this, so you may as well let me come with.” Catra said with a confident grin.

Scorpia put her pincer to her chin. “Hmm… If you come along, I’ll just have to be real secretive.” 

Catra laughed at the idea of Scorpia concealing anything as she pulled her shirt on. She looked at herself in the mirror and nodded in satisfaction.

“OK then, let’s go find Kyle,” Scorpia said, “I’ll have to figure out some way to talk to him without giving away any details…”

“Kyle?” Catra said, “Ugh. I’m going to that coffee shop around the corner. Come find me when the surprise is ready.”

Scorpia spent the rest of the morning looking over her shoulder. Catra could have been bluffing about leaving her alone. Unfortunately, Scorpia had not been bluffing about needing to visit Kyle. Other than that, the preparation went without a hitch. She found Catra, still in the coffee shop, just past noon.

Catra looked up from her notes as Scorpia entered the shop. “Finally,” she said, smiling, “I’m beginning to wonder if you actually had a plan at all.”

Scorpia couldn’t help but smile back. She was afraid that she had raised Catra’s expectations too high for today, but all she could do was hope it would all work out. She solemnly bowed and reached out to take Catra’s hand. Catra looked surprised at Scorpia’s formality. She gingerly put her hand on Scorpia’s claw and stood from her booth. She slipped her arm around Scorpia’s waist as they left.

They walked to the lift out of the canyon and discovered that in addition to the knotted handholds people used to ride the rope, there were now seats that could be ridden. Scorpia remembered with embarrassment the way she had been unable to ride it for fear she would cut the rope if she grabbed it with her pincers.

“Being a queen has its privileges,” Catra smirked. 

“You think they did this for me?” Scorpia asked, “I’m sure a lot of people could benefit from a safe ride up and down the cliff.”

Catra shook her head. “You think they wouldn’t do this to get on your good side? When you’re the queen, people _want_ to do things for you. You don’t even have to give orders. This is even nicer than running a gang”

“I just suggested it might be a good idea to make the lift more accessible, I didn’t give a command or anything!” Scorpia said.

Catra smiled. “From now on, nothing you say is a suggestion, remember that.”

As though to demonstrate, the crowd waiting to ride the lift parted almost instantly at Catra’s cough. The attendant prepared their seat without meeting their gaze or asking for payment. They rode the lift, Catra across Scorpia’s lap, and Scorpia led her out into the desert. The tents that lined the area around the canyon’s exit were small in the distance behind them when they came upon a rusted and faded Horde tank buried halfway in the sand.

“Here we are!” Scorpia said.

“Where?” Catra asked, looking around for anything of interest.

“Remember that time we were looking for the runestone of the Fire Princess?”

“Should I?” Catra asked, puzzled, “did that really happen?”

“Sure it did!” Scorpia said, “I wanted to have a picnic, but we only had ration bars shaped like food?”

“That does sound like you...” Catra said hesitantly.

“Anyway, I realized now we have the time for a real picnic!” Scorpia clicked her claws twice, and Kyle stepped out from around the tank whistling a happy tune. He set a basket between them and smiled brightly.

“He’s not going to be here the whole time, is he?” Catra whined. Kyle’s shoulders slumped and he began to trudge back to the canyon. Scorpia set out the cloth across a broad rock she had chosen just for that purpose, then she set out the food. “I ordered this special from a restaurant,” Scorpia explained, “the city is full of things to do and see.” 

Catra picked at a loaf of spiced bread and looked around warily across the Waste. Scorpia could see that she was nervous. She wanted to make a light-hearted remark to calm her down, reassure her that everything would be OK, but this was the time for something more meaningful. Catra’s eyes met Scorpia’s, and Catra’s face dropped. Scorpia sometimes forgot that Catra could read her, too. 

“This wasn’t just a picnic, was it?” Catra said, quietly.

Scorpia shook her head and stood. Catra stood too, uncertainty in her eyes. 

Scorpia coughed. She didn’t know how to start. “Catra, I… we... we need to talk.”

Catra flinched. She put her hands to her head. “What is it now?” She pleaded, “What’s wrong? Is this because I made you Queen? We can still change it.”

“Nothing’s wrong!” Scorpia said, “Well, no, this is wrong. I just want to talk, and you feel like you’re in danger. I know the Horde made it impossible to admit to any problems, but I want you to know that we can be open. We have to talk about things! We spent an entire week thinking we were making each other the queen!”

“Oh yeah,” Catra said, looking at her feet, “I guess that wasn’t great.”

“Exactly. We need to hash some things out.” Scorpia paused. “That’s it, we should make a list!” She drew a paper and chalk from a pocket. “We should go over those meeting notes together, figure out what to do with all the city’s money, we need to think about our relations with the Princess Alliance...” Scorpia sighed and dropped her chalk. “No. We need to figure out you and me, wildcat. Since we… became a couple, I think we’ve spent more time talking to other people about it than talking to each other.” She pulled Catra to her and crouched so they were eye to eye. “What are we going to do?”

Catra only looked at Scorpia uncertainly.

“All right,” Scorpia said, “I’ll start. I liked… our nights together. Did you?” 

Catra nodded.

“Good!” Scorpia pulled Catra in and held her tight. “What else could we talk about?” Scorpia thought of the most direct and simple thing she could say. “I like to be around you.” 

Scorpia could feel Catra’s nod on her shoulder. “I like to be around you too,” she whispered.

“I want to stay with you.” Scorpia said, cautiously. This was the moment of truth. “I want to be by your side, all the way to the end. Could I do that?”

Scorpia’s heart was frozen in the following silence. When Catra finally spoke, Scorpia could hear a smile in her voice. “I don’t think I could stop you if I tried.” They shared a little laugh.

Scorpia held Catra at arm’s length to look her in the eyes. “There. That’s it, we talked.”

“That’s it?” Catra asked, “What about everything else? What about the city? What about the Crimson Waste?”

Scorpia snorted. “That stuff is all secondary. When it comes to us, what matters is _us_. If you feel safe to talk to me, the rest will be easy.” 

They embraced. Scorpia let out a long sigh.

“I killed him,” Catra whispered.

“What? Killed who?”

“Inkem’s father. At least, I think it was him. The rest of the Council members were following my orders, but he had a knife. That idiot! He tried to fight me! I didn’t know what to do, I wasn’t thinking…”

“Shhh… It’ll be OK,” Scorpia said, “Death is never easy.”

“But it was easy,” Catra moaned, her claws bit into Scorpia’s back. “He just, just, fell. Blood was everywhere, and I stood there and watched him die. I can’t stop thinking about it. I messed it all up.”

“Catra, listen. No matter how it happens, seeing someone die will hurt you. You were right to do it, but it’ll still hurt.”

Catra’s body was wracked by silent sobbing. She gasped for air. “It’s not about that idiot,” she said harshly, “It’s Inkem. Every time I see them, it all comes back. I killed their parent. They’re all alone, what are they going to do? Who’s going to take care of them? We can’t just keep them.”

“We’ll do it,” Scorpia said, without even thinking about it, “we’ll take care of them.”

Catra pulled weakly against Scorpia’s hold. “You and me? Like, moms? We can barely take care of ourselves. Everything’s going wrong.”

“No, not like moms, like Queens. It’s not just you and me,” Scorpia said, “We’ll all raise them. You and me, and Rogelio and Lonnie, and that teacher Adia, and we’ll hire some staff to keep the place up, we can make it into a proper orphanage, like you said, remember? Everyone in the city will help. We’ll all work together. We’ll protect the people, and they’ll protect us, and it’ll be amazing.” She found herself grinning at the thought of Inkem growing up before their eyes. This was something real she could accomplish, something worth doing.

Catra went limp. She would have fallen to the ground if Scorpia weren’t holding her. “Really?” She asked, “it’ll all work out?” 

“With you and me working together?” Scorpia quoted, “There’s no chance we’d fail.” Scorpia scooped her up and laid her down at the picnic cloth. “I know that took a lot. Thank you for telling me.” 

The wind whistled through the Waste. Scorpia watched a two-legged animal the size of a skiff lope across the horizon. Catra lay on the blanket and stared at the sky. Eventually, she sat back up. Scorpia could just barely see a smile at the corner of her mouth, her reddened eyes were shining again. She began to eat in earnest.

“You know, we could talk some more, sometime.” Scorpia suggested.

Catra nodded, tearing into a chunk of meat. “Let’s do it.” she said through a mouthful.

“Maybe, tomorrow night?” Scorpia asked.

“Scorpia, are you asking me out on a date?” Catra asked, laughing weakly, “After all this? You are just priceless.” She looked off into the twilight. “Seduce someone, then see if they’re interested in dating, is this how all your previous romances have gone?”

“Not at all,” Scorpia said, “who would want to, with someone like me?”

Catra frowned. “It’s me no one likes,” she said.

“The people in town just don’t know you, you should go out and get to know them.” Scorpia said, reassuringly.

“No, even before, in the Horde, it’s… I never… you’re the only one left,” Catra said.

“What? No. You’ve got Lonnie and Rogelio. They’re our friends,” Scorpia said.

“They’re only here to get away from the Horde. They’ll leave us as soon as they figure out how.” Catra didn’t sound afraid, she sounded resigned to their leaving as an inevitability.

Scorpia scoffed. “We’ve all been friends since the beginning. There’s no way they’ll leave. Not like-” Scorpia panicked, trying to think of a way to end that sentence on a positive note. Adora had left Catra, now they had all left the Horde. Catra had some bad experiences, but Scorpia wouldn’t let that ruin her perspective for the future. “Catra, we’ve been going so fast. You’re stressed out because you need to take a moment to breathe. We need to take some time for ourselves, you’ll feel better.”

Catra just growled. They watched the sun begin to melt into the horizon. 

“What’s the rest of your plan?” Catra asked, casually.

Scorpia chuckled, “This is way past the end of my plan, wildcat.”

Catra leapt to her feet. “You’ve stranded us out here in the desert and we’re going to have to walk all the way back home in the dark? You complete idiot! It’ll be freezing soon!”

“Well, when you put it that way…” Scorpia began, but Catra was already in motion. She yanked at the picnic blanket, scattering the food. She wrapped the blanket around herself and began to walk toward the flickering lights of the tents. 

Catra stopped and looked over her shoulder. “You coming?”

“Just a second," Scorpia said. She turned back and looked out over the waste, which had transformed into a range of blues and purples in the setting sun. Suddenly it seemed beautiful, almost magical. “I want to remember this. Our first date.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Four burns on Kyle in one chapter! I think that's a personal best!


	15. Lonnie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What's Lonnie going to be doing in the Crimson Waste?

“And then what happened?” Lonnie asked. 

“And then we got home and went to sleep. She was pretty annoyed, but we’re fine.” Scorpia said.

“You can’t be serious,” Lonnie said, pinching her nose. “That was it?”

Scorpia nodded, looking a little confused. 

“You asked her if you could follow her around, like, like, a servant? Or a pet?”

“No, not like that, not exactly. You don’t understand Catra. For her, this was a big- Oh! Just a second!” Scorpia said. She pushed through the mass of people that crowded the narrow street and snatched up a child. Lonnie and Scorpia had been at this for hours now. Lonnie had tried to tell Scorpia that you don’t start an orphanage by asking children on the street if they had a place to sleep, but it was hard to say no to Scorpia, especially now that she was a queen. It was like saying no to a tank: you could disagree all you wanted, but that didn’t slow it down.

By all rights, Scorpia shouldn’t be good with children. A giant woman covered with armor and spikes should be frightening, but somehow, it worked. Scorpia lifted the child to eye level, and they almost immediately stopped squirming and calmly answered Scorpia’s questions. It was as if something about Scorpia’s undivided focus hypnotized them. _They’re just enjoying talking to an intellectual equal_ , Lonnie thought cynically, before catching herself. Lonnie reminded herself that she chose to be out here, and being bitter about the situation was pointless. 

“Now you run along, alright?” Scorpia told the child. “It’s the old Council building.” She crossed her arms and smiled in satisfaction as she watched the child slip into the crowd. She was practically bouncing on her toes as she walked back to Lonnie.

“This is working, Lonnie. We’re doing it! We're doing something good!” Lonnie went limp as Scorpia grabbed her, she knew when to expect an otherwise bone cracking hug by now. “Lonnie, can you feel it?”

“It does feel good,” Lonnie said, catching her breath. There really was something gratifying about helping people, especially kids. “But you just had this idea last night, right? You’re sending these kids to this ‘orphanage’, but there’s nothing there for them.” 

“Don’t worry about it, Catra said she’d get things started,” Scorpia said blithely.

“Where are they going to sleep?” Lonnie asked.

“There are a bunch of bedrooms at home, they can use them until we put in bunks.”

“You may have noticed that most of the beds have been… damaged? Since we arrived.” Lonnie couldn’t think of a way to say it less directly.

Scorpia’s eyes shot open in alarm, and a blush exploded on her face. She glanced at Lonnie and looked away in an instant. Lonnie found this embarrassment to be a little charming, if she was honest with herself. Now she just had to wait for Scorpia to regain her composure, like one of Entrapta’s bots rebooting. Then something changed in Scorpia. Instead of slowly cooling off and pretending nothing had happened, she snorted. She looked down at Lonnie and burst out laughing. She leaned against an adobe wall and laughed until she ran out of breath. Lonnie was surprised to find herself laughing too.

“This is ridiculous,” Scorpia said, wiping a tear from her eye, “You know what, Lonnie? I’m done. I’m done with pretending, with being modest. I’m in love, this is real, and I don’t care if the whole world finds out. We ruined some beds, and it was fantastic. I’d do it again.” She winked at Lonnie, “And I will.”

This time it was Lonnie that blushed. She didn’t know how to feel about this confident version of Scorpia. She took an appreciative look at Scorpia’s confident pose. She wasn’t going to complain about it, certainly. Better to change the subject.

“I guess even if they sleep on the floor for a night, it’s better than sleeping outside, right?” Lonnie suggested.

“Sure,” Scorpia answered, “and we can make Kyle and Rogelio find a place, that’ll free up a couple beds.”

“One bed. And that one’s not in good condition either.” 

Scorpia’s mouth fell open. “Really? I thought they’d never go for it. Do you know who made the first move?”

“I didn’t ask. They didn’t tell you?” Lonnie asked.

“No. I can’t blame them, Rogelio’s always been so private, and I’ve just been so busy. I should congratulate them. Thank them for sticking around.”

Lonnie thought that was as good a segue as she’d get. “Do you know the coffee shop just down the street from home? It’s shutting down.”

“Really?” Scorpia asked, “But we go there almost every day! And it seems like you three are there even more than we are.”

“Right, that’s what I wanted to talk about-”

Scorpia was staring into the distance. “This is going to hit Catra. She’s only beginning to settle in, the last thing she needs is another change.”

Lonnie realized that Scorpia was right. This probably wasn’t a good time for announcements about big changes.

“Anyway. Lonnie, I wanted to thank you for this. I mean, for helping with the kids right now, but also, thanks for everything. This is only going to get more complicated until the coronation, you’ve seen how busy my schedule is, we barely have time for a date every day.”

Lonnie was tempted to make a sarcastic comment on trying to have a date every day, but she couldn’t blame Scorpia for being enthusiastic. “Why would I have seen your schedule?” She asked.

“Oh! That’s right!” Scorpia said. She lost all her confidence in a moment as she looked Lonnie in the eyes. There was that look of undivided attention, Lonnie felt like one of those children under Scorpia's sway. “I need you. You’re smart, I trust you, we trust you,” Scorpia knelt, bringing herself level with Lonnie. Lonnie stepped back, this couldn’t be what it seemed like. 

“Do you want to be my major-domo?”

Of course. A job. Lonnie imagined a life managing Scorpia’s household. Following her around. Like a servant. Or a pet.

“No,” she said.

“I understand.” Scorpia forced a smile. “Would you do it anyway?”

Lonnie sighed. “Major-domo is a terrible name.”

“You can take whatever title you want.” Scorpia’s eyes went wide. “Do you want to be a princess?”

Lonnie shuddered. “I can’t think of how many ways that’s a bad idea.” Had she said that out loud? The heat must be getting to her.

Scorpia laughed. “You’re probably right. By the way, how are you doing?”

Lonnie had to back up mentally. Usually people said that sort of thing at the beginning of a conversation, not after a royal appointment. “I guess I’m fine?” she said, not sure if she was. Her mind was still locked on the job, She could quit if she wanted, right? And maybe it was a chance to do some good, like Scorpia said.

“I meant, like Kyle and Rogelio, are you seeing anyone?”

“Oh no,” Lonnie said, “not right now.”

“Are you thinking about someone? Any ration bars coming down the conveyor belt?”

Lonnie couldn’t imagine a worse metaphor. In her distraction, she confessed more than she intended. “I’ve had a crush on two people. They both turned out to be in love with someone else.” She just managed to avoid saying that that ‘someone else’ had been the same person both times. “I’m taking a break. It’s hard, you know?”

Scorpia nodded solemnly. “It really is. But it’s worth it. You should follow your love, even if you think it might not work out. Give it a chance! Maybe your crush isn’t as uninterested as they seem. I bet you would have told me it would never work with Catra.”

This was maddening. Lonnie couldn’t help herself. “Since we’re heading back, maybe we should stop and have a coffee before they shut the place down?”

“That’s a great idea! We should invite everyone, have a last hurrah for the place.” Scorpia said.

“Before we go,” Lonnie said, “We need some ground rules. I’m working for you. Not for one of your new friends, and definitely not for Catra. She doesn’t give me orders, and I don’t give her orders.”

Scorpia nodded. “I don’t know if she could take an order from you, to be honest. It felt weird for _me_ to give her an order.”

“When would you have been giving her orders?” Lonnie asked, “Were you two in a fight when I wasn’t there?”

“No, no, nothing like that. Two nights ago, we were- she was… Catra said I should try acting like a Queen. You know, give some royal commands?” Scorpia covered her face. “She just laughed, I guess I need some practice.”

Lonnie could see Scorpia’s blush peeking out from behind her claw. It was nice to know that, despite everything, Scorpia was still Scorpia. Lonnie had to laugh, hoping Scorpia didn’t think it would come off as mocking.

Scorpia stood straight and stared over Lonnie’s head, still flushed. “I can be very royal, you know.”

Lonnie smiled and grabbed Scorpia’s claw. “C’mon,” she said, “let’s go home.”

Lonnie realized she had automatically fallen in behind Scorpia’s left arm as they walked. It was only being practical; people moved out of the way for Scorpia, and she could move easier in Scorpia’s wake. Maybe this was all just nature. Some people just naturally carved their own path through history, and other people had to get out of the way or follow. Was Lonnie going to spend the rest of her life peeking around from behind Scorpia’s shoulder?

“Your moms had a major-domo, right?” Lonnie asked.

Scorpia nodded, “That’s where I got the idea.”

“What was her name?” 

Scorpia’s eyes narrowed. “It was such a long time ago… I don’t remember. She seemed nice.”

Scorpia might be the only person on Etheria that even knew that major-domo had ever existed, and it only amounted to her being “nice”. Would that be Lonnie’s legacy, twenty years from now?

 _Better than being a dead soldier for a genocidal fascist dictator,_ Lonnie thought to herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized while writing this that we don't really know much about Lonnie.
> 
> Thanks to everyone for their kudos and comments! If it weren't for them, I'd probably have given up on all this.


	16. Adia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra and Scorpia are starting an orphanage in the Crimson Waste, but who's going to run it?

Despite being born in the Crimson Waste, Adia knew that she wasn’t built for living here. She was too sensitive. She wilted in the heat, and froze in the cold. She was horrified by violence and intimidated by the possibility of being scammed or robbed at any moment. When the bad seasons came, she couldn’t ignore the hungry children in the streets. She only felt comfortable when her mom could get her into the rough and tumble “classes” some of the parents arranged for the local kids. So when mom died in a mining accident, Adia begged for work assisting the teacher. Then she started picking up classes when her teacher got sick. Now a dozen years had passed and  _ she  _ was the teacher. With her classroom, she had carved a small sanctuary from the chaos of the Crimson Waste and she wouldn’t give it up for anything.

Now Adia had a simple plan: make some money, help some kids get educated, but most of all, stay out of the way. Don’t get involved, don’t become a target, just float out at the edges when things (inevitably) go bad. 

Inkem would make it all possible. She would teach the child for a week or two, then subtly lead Queen Scorpia to think that it would be simpler if she took care of them personally. Get a royal salary, fade into obscurity as politics distracted the new queen and the money came in. If the father returned, she’d probably get a reward for ‘rescuing’ the child from the ‘dangerous criminals that had seized the city.’ Win-Win.

The children screaming and running in and out of the Council building left her with a feeling that the plan was about to change.

Lonnie was waiting at the front door. “You’re finally here!” Lonnie said, “I didn’t sign up for this part of the job.” Lonnie grabbed Adia’s hand and pulled her from the heat and blinding light of the Waste into the dim, cool air of the Council building. As they walked down the hall another child peeked out from behind a door, slamming it shut at their approach.

“It’s Lonnie, right?” Adia said. Introductions are always a good way to start. “I almost didn’t recognize you in your new outfit.”

Lonnie slowed down and looked down at her expensive looking suit. “Scorpia insisted I have something fitting my position. Is it too obvious that everything is pinned together?” 

Just about every part of the suit was taken in. The sleeves were rolled up, the waist was pinned tighter in the back, there were creases everywhere. “Maybe… people will think it’s a deliberate stylistic decision?”   
  


Lonnie laughed. “Sure. Scorpia told the tailor that the suit was for someone ‘a little smaller’ than her. Does she genuinely not notice she’s twice my size?”

Adia smiled sympathetically. “I’ve learned that tall people generally think of everyone shorter than them as one size.”

Lonnie looked Adia over. “You’re not so small yourself.”

“I suppose not, but I pay attention to people.” Adia said. It had always bothered her how little people noticed. Why didn’t they just look? She stopped walking and closed her eyes. “A head shorter than me, hazel eyes, athlete’s build, red jacket with gold stitching over a very dark red waistcoat, loose black pants over white boots. You’re having a tough day, but you’re eager to get work done. Oh, and you’ve got a butterfly pin where your dreadlocks meet.” Adia opened her eyes and leaned closer to look at it. “I wouldn’t have thought Queen Scorpia would have arranged for that, it doesn’t seem her style.”

Lonnie looked a little self-conscious. “That’s my idea, actually. I saw it in the market when we were out rounding up children yesterday, and it spoke to me. Does it look good for this job?”

“If you like it, then I’d say it looks perfect.” Adia thought it was a nicely non-committal answer. “A butterfly is traditionally a symbol of transformation. And beauty, of course.” Lonnie was close to the queen. Adia knew she should be careful about getting too familiar, yet she felt like she was talking with an old friend. It was a feeling she hadn’t had in a long time. “But what is your job?”

“I wish I knew!” Lonnie said, “she wants me to take care of the royal household. I’ve never done anything like that before. I don’t even know what to call it. How does ‘Chancellor’ sound, as a title?”

“Chancellor sounds good, if you want to sound important.” Another non-committal answer. Adia felt a surge of sympathy for Lonnie. She told herself it was a bad idea to get involved, but she decided to take a little risk. “If you really want to learn about working in a Queen’s household, I’m sure I’ve got something to look at in the library.” 

“There’s a library in the Crimson Waste?” Lonnie asked.

“Oh no, not really,” Adia said, embarrassed, “It’s just the room where I have all my books. It’s more book than room at this point, to be honest.”

Lonnie stopped in front of a door. “Thanks, that sounds nice.” Lonnie turned serious. “Before you go in there. I was thinking. About this suit. I was wondering who I was going to have to ask to get this suit fixed. In the Horde we’d have to requisition something from Supplies, it’s a whole complicated process. Then I realized that _I’m_ the person in charge of that. I’m not like some random Force Captain taking orders, I’m _making_ decisions, I’m like Shadow Weaver.”

Adia put a finger to her mouth. “You’re like the disgraced mystic in the Horde? Hordak’s second in command?”

Lonnie took a step back. “You know who Shadow Weaver is?”

Adia smiled. “Lots of people from the Horde end up in the Waste. You hear things. From what I’ve put together, I wouldn’t have thought you’d want to be like her.”

“Well, I’m not like her, not like that.” Lonnie took a deep breath. “When I was young, I realized that Hordak didn’t actually _do_ anything. He had Shadow Weaver do things, and his orders came down from him to the captains and to us, but we were the ones actually doing the work. He gave orders to attack a city, but we had to figure out how.

“Catra and Scorpia, they’re going to do far more than Hordak ever could, but they’re still not going to be able to make every decision. I’m going to fill in the gaps. Make big decisions they’ll never even hear about. And if you go through that door and take this job, you will too.”

“What job? What’s going on?” Adia asked, plaintively.

Lonnie put her hand on Adia’s shoulder and smiled. “Catra will want to tell you herself. Good luck!”

Adia watched Lonnie walk away as she opened the door. She didn’t notice Scorpia was stepping out as she was stepping in. 

Walking into Scorpia was like bouncing off a wall. She was still staggered as she was scooped up in a crushing hug. “Oh, you came!” Scorpia enthused, squeezing Adia tight, “I’m so glad you could make it.” Adia tried to gasp out something polite as she was set down, but couldn’t find her breath.

Scorpia knelt on in front of Adia. Adia felt a profound sense of wrongness at seeing this woman who could crush her without trying -and a queen to boot- down on one knee in front of her, a teacher. Of course, Scorpia’s size meant that Adia barely had to look down to meet her eyes.

Scorpia looked at the closed door and up and down the hall like she was a child about to tell Adia a secret. “This is very important to Catra. Please help however you can. I’ll be grateful, I swear,” she said.

Adia nodded quickly. “Yes, of course, my queen.”

Scorpia blinked at that, like an idea came to her. She squared her shoulders, raised her chin and slowly stood. “I’ll reward you, of course, but a queen’s gratitude means a lot, too.” she said. With that bearing and her loose black dress, the only thing Scorpia needed was a crown to complete the image of a queen. It was… a lot.

Adia bowed. “I’m sure it does, my queen.”

Scorpia broke into a huge grin. She was a child again. “Great!” She opened the door and pushed Adia inside, nearly bowling her over. “You two do good work, OK?” She said as she blew a kiss to Catra, who sat at the table. Catra smiled and made a vague hand gesture as Scorpia walked away.

By the time the door behind Adia closed, Catra had transformed. Her smile for Scorpia had turned into a haggard look of exhaustion. Adia was surprised to see Catra expose herself like this. Maybe Adia was simply not important enough to deceive.

Catra didn’t bother with an introduction. Her eyes didn’t reach Adia’s face as she looked wearily around the room. “We’re starting an orphanage,” she said, matter-of-fact.

“That would explain all the children,” Adia said.

“Yeah, well, here’s an outline, you need to make it work.” Catra held out a sheaf of hastily written notes. Adia tried to scan them and talk at the same time.

“You want me to run this orphanage? Starting today? With the children already here?” Adia asked.

Catra put a hand to her forehead with a pained expression. “Is there something you don’t understand, or are you just going to repeat me?” Adia looked up from the papers to check Catra’s claws. They were retracted. She was probably safe, for now.

“I’m glad to see you take an interest in the children of the city, my lady,” Adia still wasn’t sure how to address Catra, the history books seemed to say that she was a ‘queen consort’, but that wasn’t a title she could use in conversation. “But these guidelines aren’t going to work. Only two hours of training? A school needs a lot of work time to teach everything that children need.”

“Teaching is fine, I’m talking about training.” Catra said.

Working with children had taught Adia the value of working out exactly what someone was saying. “What do you mean by training?” Adia asked.

“Standard Horde training,” Catra said. She counted on her fingers. “Combat. Weapons. Running. Navigation. Survival. Ballroom dancing. No more than two hours daily, I’m not negotiating on that.”

Adia hadn’t intended to spend any time on combat training for children, but Catra’s expression left her without the courage to say it. She simply nodded. “No more than two hours.” Zero was no more than two, right? Adia looked into those pitiless eyes, looking for some hint of what made Catra like this. Two hours of training was a low number to her? What did they do to children in the Fright Zone?

“I’ll need a list of the orphans we’ll be taking care of,” Adia said.

“You can’t learn their names?” Catra asked.

“No, of course I can, although it’s good for me to know them in advance, it’s about accounting. Children are just wandering in and out, how do we know who’s an orphan? Who’s supposed to be in here?” Adia asked.

“This isn’t a secure location, why do we care what kids come in?” Catra said.

“Kids with parents could come in and get food or lessons for their kids without paying for it.” Adia said.

“And?” Catra’s irritation was visibly increasing.

“Well, do you want to feed all the children in the Crimson Waste?” Adia asked sarcastically. 

“Do you want to?” Catra asked, she seemed to be genuinely curious.

Adia froze for a moment, unable to think of anything to say. Of course they couldn’t just feed any child that traipsed into the building, right? Surely there must be some reason they couldn’t. Adia opened her mouth to explain that it couldn’t work, but she couldn’t think of a single reason why not. 

Suddenly all her memories of children begging, sick with hunger, having to leave the school to get work before they were even ten, flooded over her. It could all be over.

“Could we?” Adia asked, trying to keep her emotion out of her voice.

“You’re in charge,” Catra said, “do what you want.”

“You’ll really do it?” Adia asked, hopefully. She could feel tears welling in her eyes.

Catra just looked annoyed. “The kids are alive, so they’re already getting enough food to live, why not do it here?”

Adia usually could figure a person out, but she felt like she knew less about Catra than before. What kind of person was this? A woman who looked like she would kill you without a second thought, but was going to end child hunger with an offhand word? Adia tried to regain her composure. She turned back to the papers.

“We also need some overnight staff,” Adia said. 

“You want to teach them at night? They need time to sleep,” Catra said.

“No, to keep them from running off, getting into trouble,” Adia said.

“Why? This isn’t a prison, it’s a home. Kids… they need time to be free.” Catra looked dreamily into the distance. “When I was a kid, we’d…” she trailed off, her eyes half-lidded and an almost invisible smile.

Adia hadn’t seen much of Catra, but this expression was alien. She didn’t want to interrupt Catra’s reverie. She sat in silence, considering sneaking out of the room. She shifted her weight slightly and Catra instantly snapped to attention, skewering Adia with a look that dared her to comment.

Adia spoke cautiously. “Perhaps we could simply have someone there in case there’s a medical problem?” 

“Sure, if that’s what you want,” Catra said, “there’s plenty of money for it.”

“Speaking of that…” Adia ventured, “what exactly is the budget for this operation?”

“The treasury is down the hall that way,” Catra said, pointing, “I think Lonnie has the key, but it’s usually not locked.”

“I’m just supposed to take money as I need it?” Adia asked, dumbfounded.

“Sure, it’s not like you’re going to steal any, are you?” Catra said. Adia couldn’t tell if that was a genuine question or a veiled threat. She couldn’t think straight under Catra’s stare. The papers in her hand were shaking. 

“No, of course not, it’s just that my employers are usually different. People tend to be more careful with money. Not that you’re not careful,” Adia added hastily, “other people aren’t so generous.”

“If you spend any of that money on something other than the kids, you’ll see exactly how generous I can be.” Catra said, eyes narrowed, claws flexing.

That was the threat. Good to know.

“Enough questions,” Catra said. “This orphanage will make your queen happy. If you want to know what to do, just do whatever would _keep_ her happy. Understood?”

Adia nodded.

Catra stood above Adia. She began to say something, then choked off the words. She set a folded slip of paper in front of Adia. It simply said, “Inkem’s father is dead. Take care of it.” By the time Adia set the paper down, Catra was gone.

“She never even asked me if I wanted the job,” Adia said to an empty room. 

She had to say no. 

The job was too close to the center of things. When people came after the Queen, she’d be a target. Feeding children would mean they wouldn’t have to work; their employers would be furious. She’d make a hundred enemies, all for the benefit of children that could do nothing for her. 

She drummed her fingers on the table. 

She had entered the building less than an hour ago, and now the city would be feeding all its children. If someone else had been in the room, it might have gone the other way. If someone else ran the program, they could sell the food out the back door. They would try to manipulate the Queen. She remembered what Lonnie said.

She had to say yes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is this thing on? 
> 
> I can't believe how long this one took. I spent an absurd amount of time working out some stuff that hopefully no one will notice.
> 
> I am fueled by comments, please let me know what you think!


	17. Tahlli

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scorpia is approaching her coronation as the Queen of the Crimson Waste, but just announcing that you're in charge doesn't make you so.

Tahlli dreamt of queens.

It had been years, decades even, since she had last dreamt of queens. It was a childish thought, long snuffed out by the harsh realities of the Waste.

Yet here she was, sitting with a queen. Eating lunch with a queen. Her childish fantasy had become a reality.

In her dreams, the queen was modest, glittering, soft, and impossibly wise. She would magically rescue Tahlli and her mother from the Waste, or she’d somehow fix everything so everyone could live in peace.

Tahlli had to admit to herself that Scorpia was a more appropriate queen for the Waste. Powerful. Hard. Sharp. Even her naivety was necessary; no cynical person would think they could unite the Waste as Scorpia was planning to do.

Yet… despite her appearance, despite her attitude, Scorpia also had the  _ spirit _ of the queens Tahlli would dream of. It was a strange contradiction. She would grab someone so forcefully that it dislocated their shoulder, then patiently explain to them that their problems would be better dealt with in the new court of representatives.

Tahlli watched a queen, (a real queen by birth, if the rumours were true) pick at her dinner with foot-long claws. Her carapace shone in the midday glare. She sliced through meat on a bone with no apparent effort, then blushed when she accidentally met Catra’s gaze.

Catra. Scorpia’s accomplice had the heart of someone you’d expect to try to take over the city. Tahlli had seen her type come and go her entire life. Aggressive, cunning, lacking any principle whatsoever. Together they made two halves of a queen, if you were being generous. 

They’d have to be quick learners.

Scorpia had asked Tahlli for a good place for a meeting. This place sprung instantly to mind: An exclusive restaurant like this would provide privacy. Each table was on a balcony projecting from the canyon wall over the city below. She had fond memories of dating her wife here, decades ago. 

Tahlli sat in the scant shade of an awning, quietly appreciating the chance to see the rulers of the city with their guards down. Catra and Scorpia both seemed to enjoy the searing heat. Scorpia was more energetic than usual. Catra was sedated, her eyes slowly closing and opening in a way that almost made her seem peaceful. They ate with dedication. Scorpia had literally ordered everything on the menu and was delighted to see the variety laid out before her. Tahlli suspected that if they had to choose between conquering the Waste and eating its food, it would be a hard decision.

Scorpia ate her ice cream with delight despite her difficulty in manipulating the spoon in her claw _.  _ “Mmmph. You have to try this,” she sighed with satisfaction. She pushed the bowl across the table to Catra.

“Oh, uh, thanks,” Catra said. She looked over her side of the table. “Here. For you.” She set her dish of whiteroot on Scorpia’s side of the table. 

Scorpia looked at the dish and up to Catra. “Really? For me?” Catra smiled faintly and nodded. Scorpia’s eyes misted over. “Thank you,” she said, and she tore off a chunk of the vegetable with an enormous bite.

The sound of a guitar drifted up from below.

Catra remembered herself and turned to Tahlli. “Scorpia wants to know why the representatives haven’t come up with new laws yet. She’s unhappy with your team’s management of the situation."

“Is she?” Tahlli said, looking to Scorpia. Scorpia looked up from her dish with wide eyes, trying to talk around a full mouth. 

Catra leaned between them. “She is. She’s very upset.” Scorpia nodded and smiled apologetically, still chewing. “Scorpia wants to improve this place, and she wants to do it by... vote.” Catra said the word with distaste.

“Is that what  _ you _ want?” Tahlli asked Catra.

“Stop dodging the question,” Catra snapped, “You were put in charge of the  _ discussion _ , why isn’t it working?” 

“I’m good with keeping books. My team could execute any plan you choose to budget. But we cannot work magic. You’ve made a system where everyone gets to talk, where we have to get most people to agree on a specific proposal, and you’re asking me why it’s not doing  _ enough _ ?” Tahlli sighed. She stood and stepped to the platform’s railing. She pointed across the canyon. “Does  _ that _ look like a group prepared to make important decisions?”

Scorpia and Catra joined her at the railing. It was difficult to stand between the two; one was covered in spikes and neither had any sense of personal space.

You could just see the crowd of representatives in the distance across the canyon, they formed an animated blur. Tahlli wished she had brought her glasses, but she wouldn’t dare show weakness in front of these two.

“Why are they forming a circle?” Scorpia asked, “They’re supposed to talk one at a time, right?”

“My young people can keep people roughly on topic, your Majesty,” Tahlli said, “but they can’t force people to compromise, and  _ nothing _ could stop those people from trying to beat each other to death when they disagree. There’s a reason people have started calling the debate The Brawl.” There was a cheer loud enough to be heard all the way across the canyon. Someone must be getting some good hits in.

Scorpia looked concerned. Good. “They aren’t actually killing each other, are they?” she asked.

Tahlli shook her head. “They mostly just want to prove who’s tougher. People know to yield, and no one would use weapons in that kind of fight.” Scorpia must understand why this sort of thing couldn’t possibly work.

“So long as no one’s getting killed,” Scorpia said, eventually, “I’m sure they know what they’re doing.”

Tahlli gaped. She was OK with this? She looked to Catra, who was nodding with approval. 

“If they’re not willing to fight, why would they even be there?” Catra asked.

“Make sure the fights don’t take too long, OK?” Scorpia said to Tahlli, “Let’s eat.” Catra and Scorpia returned to their seats as Tahlli tried to process her new role as fight referee. Things had certainly been simpler under the previous rulers.

Eventually, Tahlli returned to the table. “You see why we’ve not had much progress,” she said, “In fact, you should be grateful for what we have done: People in the city will have drinking water at no expense. Only those that need more than average will need to pay you for it. Just like you wanted.” Tahlli hesitated. “I must ask you one more time, are you sure you don’t want to make everyone pay? It would fund so much, and provide much needed proof of your authority.”

“Enough,” Catra said, “Scorpia has made her feelings clear: no one should have to pay money just to survive. You people and your money make us both sick.”

A shock of alarm ran through Tahlli. “I hope you’re not saying things like that in front of others,” she said, “if they thought you wanted to get rid of their money, you’d have an uprising.”

Catra grinned. “They wouldn’t mind if I said they sickened me?”

“You don’t need to say  _ that _ ,” Tahlli shot back, “Everyone in the city knows that much.” Catra wasn’t much of an actor; even the dullest person could see her face harden as soon as she looked at anyone but Scorpia. “If you got rid of money, they’d see it as the first step toward turning this into another Fright Zone. They don’t understand why you’re letting them have something for free. You could easily charge them half of the price they’ve been paying _. _ ”

“Why do you think you get to have an opinion?” Catra asked, but she stopped at Scorpia’s raised claw.

“I appreciate what you’ve done so far,” Scorpia said, pleasantly, “Let’s see what we can do next. What ideas do people have to make things better?”

“That’s the problem,” Tahlli said, “you  _ can’t _ just ‘make things better’. Everything you give to one person has to come from someone else. You gave the water to the people, but only by stealing it from the richest people in the city.” Scorpia started to interrupt, Tahlli spoke over her, desperate to get the point across. “I know, I know, ‘you can’t own the water,’ I’m just telling you how the people here see it. You took everything from the richest people in the city, and you made everyone else a little bit better off. You can’t just do it again to the second richest people.”

“It worked so far,” Catra said.

“It only worked because people don’t know if it’s a pattern. If you come after the second richest people, the third richest will see what’s coming, and the fourth. And they’d rather lose their money having you assassinated than in helping the city,” Tahlli said.

Catra stood with a snarl. “Is that a threat?”

Scorpia laughed nervously. “No, no, she’s just trying to help us, right?”

“It  _ is _ a threat,” Tahlli said, “the threat of every society against change. There's talk of setting some rules for rent pricing. If you-"

"Rent!" Scorpia said, irritated. "I still don't get it."

"I've explained it to you before," Tahlli said patiently, "people invest in a property-"

"It just makes no sense, right?" Scorpia addressed this to Catra, who shook her head and shrugged her shoulders to show her matching incomprehension as she tore into a sandwich.

"Regardless," Tahlli said, "If you start setting rules for how people use their money, anyone who has anything of value will be your enemy. And the people that you help? They’ll appreciate what you’ve done, but they won’t fight for you. You may call yourself a queen, but they’re not going to die for someone who just showed up and started bossing people around.”

“She  _ is _ a queen,” Catra insisted.

“Is she?” Tahlli asked, “How do you know?”

“If anyone says she isn’t, I’ll remind them,” Catra said. The threat was obvious.

“There’s no one contesting your claim,” Tahlli admitted, “That’s a good start. You’ve got a treasury that will let you buy peoples’ loyalty, for a while. But we both know a queen is more than that. Scorpia, tell Catra to do something.”

“Who, me?” Scorpia pointed to herself. She looked at Catra uncertainly. “Please… pass the salts?” she managed. Catra slowly pushed them across the table. 

“Now tell me to do something,” Tahlli said.

Scorpia held her head in a reasonable impersonation of a queen’s haughty look of condescension. “Go and order another round of ice cream from downstairs,” she said, with more authority.

Tahlli sat still. She was surprised that she had to fight the urge to follow Scorpia’s order. 

“OK,” Catra said, breaking the stalemate, “What’s your point?” 

“A queen is only a queen if she is  _ obeyed _ .” Tahlli said. “Right now, you’re queen as far as you can reach. Do you think you could order those people in The Brawl to stop fighting and get to work?

“You’re young. You’re impatient. You want to fix everything. _You can’t_. Think of it this way: if you manage to keep things calm, if you fend off the bandits, if you keep the gangs in check, if you survive the Horde attacks and the weather and the seasons, you’ll be the greatest ruler we’ve ever had. If you try to fix everything, you’ll be fighting your own subjects  _ and  _ all the threats in the Waste. You won’t last a year.”

“If we make things better, the people will fight for us,” Scorpia said, confidently.

Tahlli almost laughed. She knew that Scorpia believed in that sort of thing, but it was still surprising to hear. “There is no ‘the people’ in The Waste! We’re not a people, we’re not a country, this isn’t even a city, not really. Everyone here, they’re… leftovers. They’re the people that couldn’t fit into the Princess’s lands, or the Horde, or the Coastal Wilds. Even the people that were born here wish they weren’t. This canyon is hundreds of strangers all pressed up against each other, struggling for breathing space. They’ll follow you until the instant they think someone else would offer a better deal.”

Tahlli waited, watching Scorpia process what she said. Maybe this would work out after all. 

“What gangs?” Scorpia asked. 

Tahlli cursed herself. She knew she shouldn’t have mentioned the gangs. She didn’t want to tell Scorpia that organized crime was just another power base she should leave alone. Fighting them would be just as disastrous as fighting any other group. She struggled to think of something to say.

Fortunately, at that moment a child walked out onto the balcony as though they had a right to be there. They walked to Catra and pulled at her pant leg. 

“I’m sorry,” Tahlli said, starting to stand, “I can’t imagine why they allowed a child to wander up here, I’ll see them off.”

Catra glared daggers at her. “Inkem works for me. They’re more welcome here than you are.” She bent over to listen to the child’s whispering. 

Scorpia smiled kindly. “Please be kind to them, Inkem’s an orphan.”

_ Who isn’t? _ Tahlli wondered. People don’t last long in the Waste. She considered herself lucky she lived long enough for her kids to move out of the house.

Catra lifted her head. “Good work, Inkem.” She reached into the pouch on her hip. “I got you something. It’s to show you’re under my protection. If anyone does anything you don’t like… well, they won’t do it twice.” Catra snipped the badge on Inkem’s collar. The emblem was a stylized red claw on a black background. “Now, I have another job for you.” She whispered into Inkem’s ear.

Inkem nodded solemnly. Catra looked at the child with anticipation. They remembered themself and saluted, with a “Yes, Captain.” Catra smiled and tousled Inkem’s expansive hair. They walked down the stairs and out of sight.

Tahlli took the chance to start over. “Can I be blunt?” She asked. Scorpia nodded. “There’s a bigger problem with all this. If you try to have voting decide things, if you let things change at a moment’s notice, people won’t know what to expect. People would rather be poor on solid ground than rich on quicksand.”

Tahlli stood. “Let me show you another way. The river is nearby, if you don’t mind taking a walk?” Scorpia nodded and stepped toward Tahlli and the stairs. 

Catra yawned loudly to draw their attention. She nonchalantly waited until she was sure they were looking, then hopped onto the railing with a dancer’s grace, balancing above the town below without a trace of fear. “I’ll see you down there,” she said. She held her arms out dramatically and fell backwards over the edge, her eyes never leaving Scorpia’s. The fall must be at least three stories.

Tahlli reached out instinctively, far too late to do anything. She stepped gingerly to the railing to see what was left of Catra. The cat stood on a roof below, completely unharmed. Tahlli’s mouth dropped open as Catra began to stretch luxuriously in the midday heat.

“Isn’t she amazing?” Scorpia said, joining Tahlli at the railing.

“You young people have too much energy,” Tahlli said. Her heart was racing. 

Scorpia laughed. “You’re right about that. Just last night, she-” Scorpia stopped and hid her face with her claw. “She, ah. Had a lot of energy.” Tahlli couldn’t help but smile at the blushing queen.

Tahlli led Scorpia down the steps out of the restaurant and through some alleys to the riverside. Catra flitted from rooftop to rooftop above them. Tahlli could only tell she was nearby from the occasional sound of her claws. 

The alley next to the water was very narrow. Tahlli and Scorpia had to stand uncomfortably close to peer out between the buildings at the river.

“In The Brawl, There was a proposal about the river.” Tahlli began.

Scorpia leaned out over the riverbank. “This isn’t the best angle to see it from.”

Catra sat at the edge of the roof. “It’s all buildings on both banks.”

“That is the point, actually,” Tahlli said, “Do you know why you rarely see the river when you walk through the city?”

Scorpia shrugged.   
  
“It wasn’t always like this," Tahlli said, "We used to have gardens on the riverside. It was the nicest part of the city. We had a local supply of food, and people could walk in the shade of the awnings. Now, the river is like this everywhere, crowded with buildings except for the few places where the sand is so unsteady as to make building impossible.”

“What happened?” Scorpia asked.

“The river banks are valuable because they can be used for gardens. But gardening doesn’t return much money, so richer people buy the land and put a building down. Gradually, the gardens are gone, and we are all poorer for it.” Tahlli said, grimly.

“But the land is only better because it’s good for growing, and if you build on it, you can’t have the garden… What? Why?” Scorpia asked, confused.

Tahlli took a deep breath. She hadn’t even considered the question before; it seemed self evident.

Suddenly, a memory rose in her mind. “When I was young, before the Horde, before the wars, when the Crimson Waste was still the Crimson Plains, there was a blue pack lizard. No one had ever seen anything like it. Its scales shone in the sun. Even I, as a child, knew it was something unique. I wondered if it would have blue children, and, in another age, the dull, grey lizards of my childhood would be replaced by the descendants of this magical creature. I saw it when it was put on auction in the town square. The woman that bought it had it slaughtered and mounted in her attic. There is a kind of person that wants to own something, even if it means killing it. That’s what they’ve done to the river banks.” Tahlli was surprised to find she still felt the pain of that day, after all this time. These young people were making her sentimental.

“People would be better off if they knocked down all these buildings and used the land, but you think it would make people mad.” Scorpia said.

“Exactly. Every one of these buildings has an owner!” Tahlli said, “They’d all hate you for the rest of your reign.” 

Tahlli took a breath to emphasize her point. 

“There is another way. Be patient. Gather allies. Wait until there’s an earthquake. When it hits, all these buildings are weakened, the water floods, the river explodes through the city, most buildings on the banks are washed away. It happens sometimes. Then, if you played it right, you could claim the river banks all at once. Bring back the gardens. You could even say it was for flood prevention.  _ That’s _ how you can rule. Have a plan, wait for your chance, then strike. If you’re patient, you could do a lot. In twenty years, the children in your orphanage will be grown.  _ They’ll _ think of you as a queen. Then you could start making royal proclamations.”

Scorpia looked thoughtfully over the river. “Twenty years…” she murmured. 

“Once, you told me a queen’s job was to defend people,” Tahlli said, “Will you do that? Forget about voting, forget about improving things, just keep people safe.” She felt unexpected emotion in her voice. She wanted this to work.

“No,” Scorpia said slowly. She set her shoulders back and nodded to herself. “I think we’ll do all three.” She looked down at Tahlli. “You’ll help, right?” Tahlli could only spread her arms in surrender. Scorpia smiled. “I believe in you,” she said, as though Tahlli hadn’t just said she opposed Scorpia’s entire plan. Scorpia walked away, humming tunelessly.

“What am I supposed to do now?” Tahlli asked herself. 

When Catra spoke from directly above her, Tahlli jumped in surprise. “You know what it means. Get the representatives to agree on something. Push them. Give a popular proposal to Scorpia that makes this place better.”

Tahlli craned her head to look straight up at Catra peeking at her over the edge of a roof. She struggled to think of how she could accomplish that. “I wasn’t lying, you know. It’s not going to work.”

Catra just watched her.

“You could convince her to stop this,” Tahlli said, with a tinge of desperation, “She listens to you. She cares about you.”

“She cares about everyone,” Catra said, quietly, “I don’t know how, but she really does.” She looked into the distance. “I only need to care about her.” 

“They’re going to come for you first, you know that, right?” Tahlli said. She knew this was going too far. “People think she’s an innocent. They’ll blame you for whatever she does. You’ll be the first target.”

Catra‘s grin made Tahlli shudder. “I’m planning on it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this chapter three times, I hope it still has some kind of value.
> 
> If you like my style at all, be aware I take requests for both fan fics and (bad) drawings. You can send requests to me on Twitter or Tumblr, too. I'm still figuring out how to do stuff, so requests are a good way for me to stretch my muscles.
> 
> I'm very nearly done with a the first chapter of a new She Ra AU. I really have become the most clichè fanfic writer. I can't finish my main fic, so I start working on a whole new project!
> 
> As always, thanks to the commenters! It's nice to know that I'm not just sending this story into a bottomless hole.


End file.
